THE  THOUGHTS 

OF 

THE  EMPEROR 

MARCUS  AURELIUS  ANTONINUS 


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I-  I  '-  V  V       A  I  1  K  U  I 


PREFACE. 


I  HAVK  carefully  revised  the  Life  and  Phil- 
osophy of  ANTONINUS,  in  which  I  have  made  a 
few  corrections  and  added  a  few  notes. 

I  have  also  made  a  few  alterations  in  the 
translation  where  I  thought  I  could  approach 
nearer  to  the  author's  meaning;  and  I  have 
added  a  few  notes  and  references. 

There  still  remain  difficulties  which  I  cannot 
remove,  because  the  text  is  sometimes  too  cor- 
rupt to  be  understood,  and  no  attempt  to  restore 
the  true  readings  could  be  successful. 

GEORGE  LONG. 


478515 


CONTENTS. 


PAOC 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 9 

PHILOSOPHY  OF  MARCUS  AURELIUS  ANTONINUS  .    45 

THE  THOUGHTS    ,. 99 

INDEX  OF  TERMS    .  .  t 305 

GENERAL  INDEX 311 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

OF 

MARCUS  AURELIUS  ANTONINUS. 


MAXTOXIXUS  was  born  at  Rome,  A.  D. 
.  121,  on  the  26th  of  April.  His  father, 
Anuius  Verus,  died  while  he  was  praetor.  Hi? 
mother  was  Domitia  Calvilla,  also  named  L,u- 
cilla.  The  Emperor  T.  Antoninus  Pius  mar- 
ried Annia  Galeria  Faustina,  the  sister  of  An- 
nius  Verus,  and  was  consequently  the  uncle  of 
M.  Antoninus.  When  Hadrian  adopted  An- 
toninus Pius  and  declared  him  his  successor  in 
the  empire,  Antoninus  Pius  adopted  both  L. 
Ceionius  Commodus,  the  son  of  Aelius  Caesar, 
and  M.  Antoninus,  whose  original  name  was 
M.  Annius  Verus.  Antoninus  then  took  the 
name  of  M.  Aelius  Aurelius  Verus,  to  which 
was  added  the  title  of  Caesar  in  A.  D.  139:  the 
name  Aelius  belonged  to  Hadrian's  family,  and 
Aurelius  was  the  name  of  Antoninus  Pius. 
When  M.  Antoninus  became  Augustus,  he 
dropped  the  name  of  Verus  and  took  the  name 
(9) 


io  3Sio0rapbical  Sfcetcb. 


of  Antoninus.  Accordingly  he  is  generally 
named  M.  Aurelius  Antoninus,  or  simply  M. 
Antoninus. 

The  youth  was  most  carefully  brought  up. 
He  thanks  the  gods  (.i.  17)  that  he  had  good 
grandfathers,  good  parents,  a  good  sister,  good 
teachers,  good  associates,  good  kinsmen  and 
friends,  nearly  everything  good.  He  had  the 
happy  fortune  to  witness  the  example  of  his 
uncle  and  adoptive  father  Antoninus  Pius,  and 
he  has  recorded  in  his  word  (i.  16;  vi.  30)  the 
virtues  of  the  excellent  man  and  prudent  ruler. 
Like  many  young  Romans  he  tried  his  hand  at 
poetry  and  studied  rhetoric.  Herodes  Atticus 
and  M.  Cornelius  Fronto  were  his  teachers  in 
eloquence.  There  are  extant  letters  between 
Fronto  and  Marcus,*  which  show  the  great  ai- 
fection  of  the  pupil  for  the  master,  and  the 
master's  great  hopes  of  his  industrious  pupil. 
M.  Antoninus  mentions  Fronto  (i.  n)  among 
those  to  whom  he  was  indebted  for  his  educa- 
tion. 

When  he  was  eleven  years  old,  he  assumed 
the  dress  of  philosophers,  something  plain  and 
coarse,  became  a  hard  student,  and  lived  a  most 
laborious,  abstemious  life,  even  so  far  as  to  in- 
jure his  health.  Finally,  he  abandoned  poetry 
and  rhetoric  for  philosophy,  and  he  attached 

*M.  Cornelii  Frontonis  Reliquiae,  Berlin,  1816. 
There  are  a  few  letters  between  Fronto  and  Antoni- 
nus Pius. 


flfearcus  Hurclius  Bntoninus. 


himself  to  the  sect  of  the  Stoics.  But  he  did 
not  neglect  the  study  of  law,  which  was  a  use- 
ful preparation  for  the  high  place  which  he  was 
designed  to  fill.  His  teacher  was  L.  Yolusiamis 
Maecianus,  a  distinguished  jurist.  \Ve  must 
suppose  that  he  learned  the  Roman  discipline 
of  arms,  which  was  a  necessary  part  of  the  edu- 
cation of  a  man  who  afterwards  led  his  troops 
to  kittle  against  a  warlike  race. 

Antoninus  has  recorded  in  his  first  book  the 
names  of  his  teaciiers,  and  the  obligations  which 
lie  o\ved  to  each  ol'  them.  The  way  in  which 
he  speaks  of  what  he  learned  from  them  might 
seem  to  savor  of  vanity  or  self-praise,  if  we  look 
carelessly  at  the  way  in  which  lie  has  expressed 
himself;  but  if  any  one  draws  this  conclusion, 
lie  will  be  mistaken.  Antoninus  means  to 
commemorate  the  merits  of  his  several  teachers, 
what  they  taught,  and  what  a  pupil  might 
learn  from  them.  Besides,  this  book,  like  the 
eleven  other  books,  was  for  his  own  u^e  ;  and 
if  we  may  trust  the  note  at  the  end  of  the  first 
book  it  was  written  during  one  of  M.  Anto- 
ninus' campaigns  against  the  Ouadi,  at  a  time 
when  the  commemoration  of  the  virtues  of  his 
illustrious  teachers  might  remind  him  of  their 
lessons  and  the  practical  uses  which  he  might 
derive  from  them. 

Among  his  teachers  of  philosophy  was  Sextus 
of  Chaeroneia,  a  grandson  of  Plutarch.  What 
he  learned  from  this  excellent  man  is  told  by 
himself  (i.  9).  His  favorite  teacher  was  Q. 


12  3Bfoorapl3ical  Sfcetcb. 

Junius  Rusticus  (i.  7),  a  philosopher,  and  also 
a  man  of  practical  good  sense  in  public  affairs. 
Rusticus  was  the  adviser  of  Antoninus  after  he 
became  emperor.  Young'  men  who  are  destined 
for  high  places  are  not  often  fortunate  in  those 
who  are  about  them,  their  companions  and 
teachers  ;  and  I  do  not  know  any  example  of  a 
young  prince  having  had  an  education  which 
can  be  compared  with  that  of  M.  Antoninus. 
Such  a  body  of  teachers  distinguished  by  their 
acquirements  and  their  character  will  hardly  be 
collected  again  ;  and  as  to  the  pupil,  wre  have 
not  had  one  like  him  since. 

Hadrian  died  in  July  A.  D.  138,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Antoninus  Pius.  M.  Antoninus 
married  Faustina,  his  cousin,  the  daughter  of 
Pius,  probably  about  A.  D.  146,  for  he  had  a 
daughter  born  in  147.  He  received  from  his 
adoptive  father  the  title  of  Caesar,  and  was  as- 
sociated with  him  in  the  administration  of  the 
state.  The  father  and  the  adopted  son  lived 
together  in  perfect  friendship  and  confidence. 
Antoninus  was  a  dutiful  son,  and  the  emperor 
Pius  loved  and  esteemed  him. 

Antoninus  Pius  died  in  March,  A.  D.  161. 
The  Senate,  it  is  said,  urged  M.  Antoninus  to 
take  the  sole  administration  of  the  empire,  but 
he  associated  with  himself  the  other  adopted 
son  of  Pius,  L.  Ceionius  Commodus,  who  is 
generally  called  L.  Yerus.  Thus  Rome  for  the 
first  time  had  two  emperors.  Yerus  was  an  in- 
dolent man  of  pleasure,  and  unworthy  of  his 


flfcarcns  Burclfus  Bntonfnus. 


station.  Antoninus  however  bore  with  him, 
and  it  is  said  Yerus  had  sense  enough  to  pay 
to  his  colleague  the  respect  due  to  his  charac- 
ter. A  virtuous  emperor  and  a  loose  partner 
lived  together  in  peace,  and  their  alliance  was 
.strengthened  by  Antoninus  giving  to  Yerus  fot 
wife  his  daughter  Lucilla. 

The  reign  of  Antoninus  was  first  troubled  by 
a  Parthian  war,  in  which  Yerus  was  sent  to  com- 
mand; but  he  did  nothing,  and  the  success  that 
was  obtained  by  the  Romans  in  Armenia  and 
on  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  was  due  to  his 
generals.  This  Parthian  war  ended  in  A.  D. 
165.  Aurelius  and  Yerus  had  a  triumph  (A.  D. 
166)  for  the  victories  in  the  Kast.  A  pestilence 
followed,  which  carried  off  great  numbers  in 
Rome  and  Italy,  and  spread  to  the  west  of 
Europe. 

The  north  of  Italy  was  also  threatened  by  the 
rude  people  beyond  the  Alps,  from  the  borders 
of  Gallia  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  Hadriatic. 
These  barbarians  attempted  to  break  into  Italy, 
as  the  Germanic  nations  had  attempted  near 
three  hundred  years  before;  and  the  rest  of  the 
life  of  Antoninus,  with  some  intervals,  was  em- 
ployed in  driving  back  the  invaders.  In  169 
Yerus  suddenly  died,  and  Antoninus  adminis- 
tered the  state  alone. 

During  the  German  wars  Antoninus  resided 
for  three  years  on  the  Danube  at  Carnuntum. 
The  Marcomanni  were  driven  out  of  Pannonia 
and  almost  destroyed  in  their  retreat  across  th«a 


14  3Bfograpbfcal  Sfeetcb. 

Danube;  and  in  A.  D.  174  the  emperor  gained  a 
great  victory  over  the  Quadi. 

In  A.  D.  175,  Avidius  Cassius,  a  brave  and 
skilful  Roman  commander  who  was  at  the  head 
of  the  troops  in  Asia,  revolted,  and  declared 
himself  Augustus.  But  Cassius  was  assassi- 
nated by  some  of  his  officers,  and  so  the  rebel- 
lion came  to  an  end.  Antoninus  showed  his 
humanity  by  his  treatment  of  the  family  and 
the  partisans  of  Cassius;  and  his  letter  to  the 
Senate,  in  which  he  recommends  mercy,  is  ex- 
tant. (Vulcatius,  Avidius  Cassius,  c.  12.) 

Antoninus  set  out  for  the  East  on  hearing  of 
Cassius'  revolt.  Though  he  appears  to  have 
returned  to  Rome  in  A.  D.  174,  he  went  back  to 
prosecute  the  war  against  the  Germans,  and  it 
is  probable  that  he  marched  direct  to  the  East 
from  the  German  war.  His  w?fe  Faustina,  who 
accompanied  him  into  Asia,  died  suddenly  at 
the  foot  of  the  Taurus,  to  the  great  grief  of  her 
husband.  Capitolinus,  who  has  written  the  life 
of  Antoninus,  and  also  Dion  Cassius,  accuses  the 
empress  of  scandalous  infidelity  to  her  husband, 
and  of  abominable  lewdness.  But  Capitolimw 
says  that  Antoninus  either  knew  it  not  or  pre- 
tended not  to  know  it.  Nothing  is  so  common 
as  such  malicious  reports  in  all  ages,  and  the 
history  of  imperial  Rome  is  full  of  them.  An- 
toninus loved  his  wife,  and  he  says  that  she 
was  "obedient,  affectionate,  and  simple."  The 
same  scandal  had  been  spread  about  Faustina's 
mother,  che  wife  of  Antoninus  Pius,  and  yet  he 


/Ibarcus  Burclius  Bntoninus.  15 

too  was  perfectly  satisfied  with  his  wife.  An- 
toninus Pins  says  after  her  death,  in  a  letter  to 
Pronto,  that  he  would  rather  have  lived  in  exile 
with  his  wife  than  in  his  palace  at  Rome  with- 
out her.  There  are  not  many  men  who  would 
give  their  wives  a  better  character  than  these 
two  emperors.  Capitolinus  wrote  in  the  time 
of  Diocletian.  He  may  have  intended  to  tell 
the  truth,  but  he  is  a  poor,  feeble  biographer. 
Dion  Cassius,  the  most  malignant  of  historians, 
always  reports,  and  perhaps  he  believed,  any 
scandal  against  anybody. 

Antoninus  continued  his  journey  to  Syria 
and  Egypt,  and  on  his  return  to  Italy  through 
Athens  he  was  initiated  into  the  Eleusinian 
mysteries.  It  was  the  practice  of  the  emperor 
to  conform  to  the  established  rites  of  the  age, 
and  to  perform  religious  ceremonies  with  due 
solemnity.  \Ve  cannot  conclude  from  this  that 
he  was  a  superstitious  man,  though  we  might 
perhaps  do  so  if  his  book  did  not  show  that 
he  was  not.  But  that  is  only  one  among  many 
instances  that  a  ruler's  public  acts  (to  not  al- 
ways prove  his  real  opinions.  A  prudent  gov- 
ernor will  not  roughh-  oppose  even  the  super- 
stitions of  his  people  ;  and  though  he  may  wish 
they  were  wiser,  he  will  know  that  he  cannot 
make  them  so  by  offending  their  prejudices. 

Antoninus  and  his  son  Commodus  entered 
Rome  in  triumph,  perhaps  for  some  Germnn 
victories,  on  the  23d  of  December,  A.  D.  176. 
In  the  following  year  Commodus  was  associated 


16  asioflrapbical  Sfcetcb. 

with  his  father  in  the  empire,  and  took  the 
name  of  Augustus.  This  year  A.  D.  177  is 
memorable  in  ecclesiastical  history.  Attains 
and  others  were  put  to  death  at  L,yon  for  their 
adherence  to  the  Christian  religion.  The  evi- 
dence of  this  persecution  is  a  letter  preserved 
by  Eusebius  (E.  H.  v.  i  ;  printed  in  Routh's 
Reliquiae  vSacrae,  vol.  i,  with  notes).  The 
letter  is  from  the  Christians  of  Vienna  and 
IvUgdunum  in  Gallia  (Vienna  and  Lyon)  to 
their  Christian  brethren  in  Asia  and  Phrygia  ; 
and  it  is  preserved  perhaps  nearly  entire.  It 
contains  a  very  particular  description  of  the 
tortures  inflicted  on  the  Christians  in  Gallia, 
and  it  states  that  while  the  persecution  was  go- 
ing on,  Attains,  a  Christian  and  a  Roman  citi- 
zen, was  loudly  demanded  by  the  populace  and 
brought  into  the  amphitheatre  ;  but  the  gover- 
nor ordered  him  to  be  reserved,  with  the  rest 
who  were  in  prison,  until  he  had  received  in- 
structions from  the  emperor.  Many  had  been 
tortured  before  the  governor  thought  of  ap- 
plying to  Antoninus.  The  imperial  rescript, 
says  the  letter,  was  that  the  Christians  should 
be  punished,  but  if  they  would  deny  their 
faith,  they  must  be  released.  On  this  the 
work  began  again.  The  Christians  who  were 
Roman  citizens  were  beheaded  ;  the  rest  were 
exposed  to  the  wild  beasts  in  the  amphithe- 
atre. Some  modern  writers  on  ecclesiastical 
history,  when  they  use  this  letter,  say  nothing 
of  the  wonderful  stories  of  the  martyrs'  suffer- 


dfcarcus  aurcHus  Hntonfnus. 


ings.  Sanctus,  as  the  letter  says,  was  burnt 
with  plates  of  hot  iron  till  his  body  was  one 
sore  and  had  lost  all  human  form  ;  but  on  being 
put  to  the  rack  he  recovered  his  former  appear- 
ance under  the  torture,  which  was  thus  a  cure 
instead  of  a  punishment.  He  was  afterwards 
torn  by  beasts,  and  placed  on  an  iron  chair  and 
roasted.  lie  died  at  last. 

The  letter  is  one  piece  of  evidence.  The 
writer,  whoever  he  was  that  wrote  in  the  name 
of  the  Gallic  Christians,  is  our  evidence  both 
for  the  ordinary  and  the  extraordinary  circum- 
stances of  the  story,  and  we  cannot  accept  his 
evidence  for  one  part  and  reject  the  other.  We 
often  receive  smal1  evidence  as  a  proof  of  a 
thing  we  believe  to  be  within  the  limits  of 
probability  or  possibility,  and  we  reject  exactly 
the  same  evidence,  when  the  thing  to  which  it 
refers  appears  very  improbable  or  impossible. 
But  this  is  a  false  method  of  inquiry,  though 
it  is  followed  by  some  modern  writers,  who  se- 
lect what  they  like  from  a  story  and  reject  the 
rest  of  the  evidence;  or  if  they  do  not  reject 
it,  they  dishonestly  suppress  it.  A  man  can 
only  act  consistently  by  accepting  all  this  letter 
or  rejecting  it  all,  and  we  cannot  blame  him  for 
either.  But  he  who  rejects  it  may  still  admit 
that  such  a  letter  may  be  founded  on  real  facts; 
and  he  would  make  this  admission  as  the  most 
probable  way  of  accounting  for  the  existence  of 
the  letter;  but  if,  as  he  would  suppose,  the 
writer  has  stated  some  things  falsely,  he  can- 

2 


i8  JBfosrapbfcal  Sfcetcb. 

not  tell  what  part  of  his  story  is  worthy  of 
credit. 

The  war  on  the  northern  frontier  appears  to 
have  been  uninterrupted  during  the  visit  of 
Antoninus  to  the  East,  and  on  his  return  the 
emperor  again  left  Rome  to  oppose  the  barba- 
rians. The  Germanic  people  were  defeated  in 
a  great  battle  A.  D.  179.  During  this  campaign 
the  emperor  was  seized  with  some  contagious 
malady,  of  which  he  died  in  the  camp  at  Sir- 
mium  (Mitrovitz),  on  the  Save,  in  Lower  Pan- 
nonia,  but  at  Vindebona  (Vienna),  according  to 
other  authorities,  on  the  lyth  of  March,  A.  D. 
1 80,  in  the  fifty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  His  son 
Commodus  was  with  him.  The  body,  or  the 
ashes  probably,  of  the  emperor  were  carried  to 
Rome,  and  he  received  the  honor  of  deification. 
Those  who  could  afford  it  had  his  statue  or 
bust;  and  when  Capitolinus  wrote,  many  peo- 
ple still  had  statues  of  Antoninus  among  the 
Dei  Penates  or  household  deities.  He  was  in  a 
manner  made  a  saint.  Commodus  erected  to 
the  memory  of  his  father  the  Antonine  column 
which  is  now  in  the  Piazza  Colonna  at  Rome. 
The  bassi  rilievi  which  are  placed  in  a  spiral 
line  round  the  shaft  commemorate  the  victories 
of  Antoninus  over  the  Marcomanni  and  the 
Quadi,  and  the  miraculous  shower  of  rain 
which  refreshed  the  Roman  soldiers  and  dis- 
comfited their  enemies.  The  statue  of  Antoni- 
nus was  placed  on  the  capital  of  the  column, 
but  it  was  removed  at  some  time  unknown,  and 


flfcarcus  Hurclius  Bntontnus.  19 


a  bronze  statue  of  St.  Paul  was  put  in  the  place 
by  Pope  Sixtus  the  fifth. 

The  historical  evidence  for  the  times  of  An- 
toninus is  very  defective,  and  some  of  that 
which  remains  is  not  credible.  The  most  curi- 
ous is  the  story  about  the  miracle  which  hap- 
pened in  A.  D.  174,  during  the  war  with  the 
Quadi.  The  Roman  army  was  in  danger  of 
perishing  by  thirst,  but  a  sudden  storm  drenched 
them  with  rain,  while  it  discharged  fire  and 
hail  on  their  enemies,  and  the  Romans  gained 
a  great  victory.  All  the  authorities  which 
speak  of  the  battle  speak  also  of  the  miracle. 
The  Gentile  writers  assign  it  to  their  gods,  and 
the  Christians  to  the  intercession  of  the  Chris- 
tian legion  in  the  emperor's  army.  To  confirm 
the  Christian  statement  it  is  added  that  the 
emperor  gave  the  title  of  Thundering  to  this 
legion;  but  Dacier  and  others,  who  maintain  the 
Christian  report  of  the  miracle,  admit  that  this 
title  of  Thundering  or  Lightning  was  not  given 
to  this  legion  because  the  Quadi  were  struck 
with  lightning,  but  because  there  was  a  figure 
of  lightning  on  their  shields,  and  that  this  title 
of  the  legion  existed  in  the  time  of  Augustus. 

Scaliger  also  had  observed  that  the  legion  was 
called  Thundering  (Kepawo/W/.of,  or  ^pnvro^opo^ 
before  the  reign  of  Antoninus.  We  learn  this 
from  Dion  Cassius  (Lib.  55,  c.  23,  and  the  note 
of  Reimarus),  who  enumerates  all  the  legions 
of  Augustus'  time.  The  name  Thundering  of 
Lightning  also  occurs  on  an  inscription  of  the 


3Bio0rapbfcat  Sfcetcb. 


reign  of  Trajan,  which  was  found  at  Trieste. 
Eusebius  (v.  5),  when  he  relates  the  miracle, 
quotes  Apolinarius,  bishop  of  Hierapolis,  as 
authority  for  this  name  being  given  to  the 
legion  Melitene  by  the  emperor  in  consequence 
of  the  success  which  he  obtained  through  their 
prayers;  from  which  we  may  estimate  the  value 
of  Apolinarius'  testimony.  Eusebius  does  not 
say  in  what  book  of  Apolinarius  the  statement 
occurs.  Dion  says  that  the  Thundering  legion 
was  stationed  in  Cappadocia  in  the  time  of 
Augustus.  Valesius  also  observes  that  in  the 
Notitia  of  the  Imperium  Romanum  there  is 
mentioned  under  the  commander  of  Armenia 
the  Praefectura  of  the  twelfth  legion  named 
"Thundering  Melitene;"  and  this  position  in 
Armenia  will  agree  with  what  Dion  says  of  its 
position  in  Cappadocia.  Accordingly  Valesius 
concludes  that  Melitene  was  not  the  name  of 
the  legion,  but  of  the  town  in  which  it  was 
stationed.  Melitene  was  also  the  name  of  the 
district  in  which  this  town  was  situated.  The 
legions  did  not,  he  says,  take  their  name  from 
the  place  where  they  were  on  duty,  but  from 
the  country  in  which  they  were  raised,  and 
therefore  what  Eusebius  says  about  the  Melitene 
does  not  seem  probable  to  him.  Yet  Valesius, 
on  the  authority  of  Apolinarius  and  Tertullian, 
believed  that  the  miracle  was  worked  through 
the  prayers  of  the  Christian  soldiers  in  the 
emperor's  army.  Kufinus  does  not  give  the 
name  of  Melitene  to  this  legion,  says  Valesius, 


flfcarcus  Burclius  Bntonfnus.  21 


,/nd  probably  he  purposely  omitted  it,  because 
lie  knew  that  Melitenc  was  the  name  of  a  town 
in  Armenia  Minor,  where  the  legion  was  sta- 
tioned in  his  time. 

The  emperor,  it  is  said,  made  a  report  of  his 
victory  to  the  Senate,  which  we  may  believe, 
for  such  was  the  practice;  but  we  do  not  know 
what  lie  said  in  his  letter,  for  it  is  not  extant. 
Dacier  assumes  that  the  emperor's  letter  was 
purposely  destroyed  by  the  Senate  or  the  enemies 
of  Christianity,  that  so  honorable  a  testimony 
to  the  Christians  and  their  religion  might  not 
be  perpetuated.  The  critic  has  however  not 
seen  that  he  contradicts  himself  when  he  tells 
us  the  purport  of  the  letter,  for  he  says  that  it 
\vas  destroyed,  and  even  Kusebius  could  not 
find  it.  But  there  does  exist  a  letter  in  Greek 
addressed  by  Antoninus  to  the  Roman  people 
and  the  sacred  Senate  after  this  memorable 
victory.  It  is  sometimes  printed  after  Justin's 
first  Apology,  but  it  is  totally  unconnected  with 
the  apologies.  This  letter  is  one  of  the  most 
stupid  forgeries  of  the  many  which  exist,  and 
it  cannot  be  possibly  founded  even  on  the  gen- 
uine report  of  Antoninus  to  the  Senate.  If  it 
were  genuine,  it  would  free  the  emperor  from 
the  charge  of  persecuting  men  because  they 
were  Christians,  for  he  says  in  this  false  letter 
that  if  a  man  accuse  another  only  of  being  a 
Christian,  and  the  accused  confess,  and  there  is 
nothing  else  against  him.  he  must  be  set  free; 
with  this  monstrous  addition,  made  by  a  man 


22  JSfoflrapbical  Sftetcb. 

inconceivably  ignorant,  that  the  informer  must 
be  burnt  alive. * 

During  the  time  of  Antoninus  Pius  and  Mar- 
cus Antoninus  there  appeared  the  first  Apology 
of  Justinus,  and  under  M.  Antoninus  the  Ora- 
tion of  Tatian  against  the  Greeks,  which  was  a 
fierce  attack  on  the  established  religions  ;  the 
address  of  Athenagoras  to  M.  Antoninus  on  be- 
half of  the  Christians,  and  the  Apology  of 
Melito,  bishop  of  Sardes,  also  addressed  to  the 
emperor,  and  that  of  Apolinarius.  The  first 
Apology  of  Justinus  is  addressed  to  T.  Antoni- 
nus Pius  and  his  two  adopted  sons,  M.  Antoni- 
nus and  Is.  Verus;  but  we  do  not  know  whether 
they  read  it.f  The  second  Apology  of  Justinus 
is  entitled  "to  the  Roman  Senate;"  but  this 

*  Eusebius  (v.  5)  quotes  Tertullian's  Apology  to  the 
Roman  Senate  in  confirmation  of  the  story.  Tertul- 
lian,  he  says,  writes  that  letters  of  the  emperor  were 
extant,  in  which  he  declares  that  his  army  was  saved 
by  the  prayersofthe  Christians;  and  that  he  "threat- 
ened to  punish  with  death  those  who  ventured  to  ac- 
cuse us."  It  is  possible  that  the  forced  letter  which 
is  now  extant  may  be  one  of  those  which  Tertullian 
had  seen,  for  he  uses  the  plural  number,  "letters." 
A  great  deal  has  been  written  about  this  miracle  of 
the  Thundering  Legion,  and  more  than  is  worth  read- 
ing. There  is  a  dissertation  on  this  supposed  miracle 
in  Movie's  Works,  London,  1726. 

fOrosius,  vii.  14,  says  that  Justinus  the  philosopher 
presented  to  Antonius  Pius  his  workjn  defence  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  made  him  merciful  to  the 
Christians. 


flfcarcus  HurcHue  Hntoninus. 


superscription  is  from  some  copyist.  In  the 
first  chapter  Justinus  addresses  the  Romans. 
In  the  second  chapter  he  speaks  of  an  affair 
that  had  recently  happened  in  the  time  of  M. 
Antoninus  and  L.  Verus,  as  it  seems;  and  he 
also  directly  addresses  the  emperor,  saying  of  a 
certain  woman,  "she  addressed  a  petition  to 
thee,  the  emperor,  and  thou  didst  grant  the  peti- 
tion.' '  In  other  passages  the  writer  addresses  the 
two  emperors,  from  which  we  must  conclude  that 
the  Apology  was  directed  to  them.  Eusebius 
(K.  H.  iv.  1 8)  states  that  the  second  Apology 
was  addressed  to  the  successor  of  Antoninus 
Pius,  and  he  names  him  Antoninus  Yerus, 
meaning  M.  Antoninus.  In  one  passage  of  this 
.second  Apology  (c.  8;,  Justinus,  or  the  writer, 
whoever  he  may  be,  says  that  even  men  who 
followed  the  Stoic  doctrines,  when  they  ordered 
their  lives  according  to  ethical  reason,  were 
hated  and  murdered,  such  as  Heraclitus,  Muso- 
nius  in  his  own  times,  and  others;  for  all  those 
who  in  any  way  labored  to  live  according  to 
reason  and  avoided  wickedness  were  always 
hated:  and  this  was  the  effect  of  the  work  of 
daemons. 

Justinus  himself  is  said  to  have  been  put  to 
death  at  Rome,  because  he  refused  to  sacrifice 
to  the  gods.  It  cannot  have  been  in  the  reign 
of  Hadrian,  as  one  authority  states;  nor  in  the 
time  of  Antoninus  Pius,  if  the  second  Apology 
was  written  in  the  time  of  M.  Antoninus;  and 
there  is  evidence  that  this  event  took  place 


24 


Sftetcb. 


under  M.  Antoninus  and  L.  Verus,  when  Rusti- 
cus was  praefect  of  the  city.* 

The  persecution  in  which  Polycarp  suffered 
at  Smyrna  belongs  to  the  time  of  M.  Antoni- 
nus. The  evidence  for  it  is  the  letter  of  the 
church  of  Smyrna  to  the  churches  of  Philome- 

*  vSee  the  Martyrium  Sanctorum  Justini,  &c.,  in  the 
works  of  Justinus,  ed.  Otto,  vol.  ii.  559.  "Junius 
Rusticus  Praefectus  Urhi  erat  sub  imperatoribus  M. 
Aurelio  et  L-  Vero,  id  quod  liquet  ex  Themistii  Orat. 
xxxiv  Dindorf.  p.  451,  et  ex  quodain  illorum  rescripto, 
Dig.  49.  i.  i,  £  2"  (Otto  '.  The  rescript  contains  the 
\vords  "Junium  Rusticum  amicum  nostrum  Prae- 
fectum  Urbi.''  The  Martyrium  of  Justinus  and  others 
is  written  in  Geeek.  It  begins,  "  In  the  time  of  the 
wicked  defenders  of  idolatry  impious  edicts  were  pub- 
lished against  the  pious  Christians  both  in  cities  and 
country  places,  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  them 
to  make  offerings  to  vain  idols.  Accordingly  the  holy 
men  (Justinus,  Chariton,  a  woman  Charito,  Paeon, 
Liberianus,  and  others)  were  brought  before  Rusticus, 
the  praefect  of  Rome." 

The  Martyrium  gives  the  examination  of  the  ac* 
cused  by  Rusticus.  All  of  them  professed  to  be 
Christians.  Justinus  was  asked  if  he  expected  to  as- 
cend into  heaven  and  to  receive  a  reward  for  his  suf- 
ferings, if  he  was  condemned  to  death.  lie  answered 
that  he  did  not  expect  :  he  was  certain  of  it.  Finally, 
the  test  of  obedience  was  proposed  to  the  prisoners  ; 
they  were  required  to  sacrifice  to  the  gods.  All  re- 
fused, and  Rnsticus  pronounced  the  sentence,  which 
was  that  those  who  refused  to  sacrifice  to  the  gods 
and  obey  the  emperor's  order  should  be  whipped  and 
beheaded  according  to  the  law.  The  martyrs  were 
then  led  to  the  usual  place  of  execution  and  beheaded 
Some  of  the  faithful  secretly  carried  off  the  bodie? 
and  deposited  them  in  a  fit  place. 


dfcarcus  Burelius  antoninus. 


liuni  and  the  other  Christian  churches,  and  it 
is  preserved  by  Kusebius  (1C.  II.  iv.  15).  But 
the  critics  do  not  agree  about  the  time  of  Poly- 
carp's  death,  differing  in  the  two  extremes  to 
the  amount  ot"  twelve  years.  The  circumstances 
of  Polycarp's  martyrdom  were  accompanied  by 
miracles,  one  of  which  Kusebius  (iv.  15)  has 
omitted,  but  it  appears  in  the  oldest  Latin  ver- 
sion of  the  letter,  which  Usher  published,  and 
it  is  supposed  that  this  version  was  made  not 
long  after  the  time  of  Kusebius.  The  notice  at 
the  end  of  the  letter  states  that  it  was  tran- 
scribed by  Caius  from  the  copy  of  Irenaeus,  the 
disciple  of  Poly  carp,  then  transcribed  by  Socra- 
tes at  Corinth;  "  after  which  I  Pionius  again 
wrote  it  out  from  the  copy  above  mentioned, 
having  searched  it  out  by  the  revelation  of 
Polycarp,  who  directed  me  to  it,"  <S;c  The 
story  of  Polycarp's  martyrdom  is  embellished 
with  miraculous  circumstances  which  some 
modern  writers  on  ecclesiastical  history  take 
the  liberty  of  omitting.* 

In  order  to  form  a  proper  notion  of  the  con- 

*  Con yers  Middleton,  An  Inquiry  into  the  Miracu- 
lous Powers,  &c.  p.  126.  Middleton  says  that  Euse- 
bius  omitted  to  mention  the  dove,  which  flew  out  of 
Polycarp's  body,  and  Dodwell  and  Archbishop  Wake 
have  done  the  same.  Wake  says,  "I  am  so  little  a 
friend  to  such  miracles  that  I  thought  it  better  with 
Eusebins  to  omit  that  circumstance  than  to  mention 
it  from  Bp.  Usher's  Manuscript,"  whi<  h  manuscript 
however,  says  Middleton,  he  afterwards  declares  to  b* 
so  well  attested  that  we  need  not  any  further  assur 
ance  of  the  truth  of  it. 


26  JBfograpbfcal  Sftetcb. 

dition  of  the  Christians  under  M.  Antoninus  we 
must  go  back  to  Trajan's  time.  When  the 
younger  Pliny  was  governor  of  Bithynia,  the 
Christians  were  numerous  in  those  parts,  and 
the  worshipers  of  the  old  religion  were  falling 
off.  The  temples  were  deserted,  the  festivals 
neglected,  and  there  were  no  purchasers  of  vic- 
tims for  sacrifice.  Those  who  were  interested 
in  the  maintenance  of  the  old  religion  thus 
found  that  their  profits  were  in  danger.  Chris- 
tians of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  were  brought 
before  the  governor,  who  did  not  know  what  to 
do  with  them.  He  could  come  to  no  other  con- 
clusion than  this,  that  those  who  confessed  to  be 
Christians  and  persevered  in  their  religion 
ought  to  be  punished;  if  for  nothing  else,  for 
their  invincible  obstinancy.  He  found  no 
crimes  proved  against  the  Christians,  and  he 
could  only  characterize  their  religion  as  a  de- 
praved and  extravagant  superstition,  which 
might  be  stopped  if  the  people  were  allowed 
the  opportunity  of  recanting.  Pliny  wrote  this 
in  a  letter  to  Trajan  (Plinius,  Ep.  x.  97).  He 
asked  for  the  emperor's  directions,  because  he 
did  not  know  what  to  do.  He  remarks  that  he 
had  never  been  engaged  in  judicial  inquiries 
about  the  Christians,  and  that  accordingly  he 
did  not  know  what  to  inquire  about,  or  how  far 
to  inquire  and  punish.  This  proves  that  it  was 
not  a  new  thing  to  examine  into  a  man's  pro- 
fession of  Christianity  and  to  punish  him  for  it.* 

*Orosius  (vii.  12)  speaks  of  Trajan's  persecution  of 


jflfcarcus  Hurelfus  Bntoninus. 


27 


Trajan's  rescript  is  extant.  lie  approved  of 
the  governor's  judgment  in  the  matter,  but  he 
said  that  no  search  must  be  made  after  the 
Christians;  if  a  man  was  charged  with  the  new 
religion  and  convicted,  he  must  not  be  pun- 
ished if  he  affirmed  that  he  was  not  a  Christian, 
and  confirmed  his  denial  by  showing  his  rever- 
ence to  the  heathen  gods.  He  added  that  no 
notice  must  be  taken  of  anonymous  in  forma 
lions,  for  such  things  were  of  bad  example. 
Trajan  was  a  mild  and  sensible  man;  and  both 
motives  of  mercy  and  policy  probably  also  in- 
duced him  to  take  as  little  notice  of  the  Chris- 
tians as  he  could,  to  let  them  live  in  quiet  if  it 
were  possible.  Trajan's  rescript  is  the  first 
legislative  act  of  the  head  of  the  Roman  state 
Avith  reference  to  Christianity,  which  is  known 
to  us.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  Christians 
were  further  disturbed  under  his  reign.  The 
martyrdom  of  Ignatius  by  the  order  of  Trajan 
himself  is  not  universally  admitted  to  be  an 
historical  fact.* 

the  Christians,  and  of  Pliny's  application  to  him  hav- 
ing led  the  emperor  to  mitigate  his  severity.  The 
punishment  by  the  Mosaic  law  for  those  who  at- 
tempted to  seduce  the  Jews  to  follow  new  gods  was 
death.  If  a  man  was  secretly  enticed  to  such  new 
worship,  he  must  kill  the  seducer,  even  if  the  seducer 
were  brother,  son,  daughter,  wife,  or  friend.  (Ueut. 
xiii. ) 

*The  Martyrium  Ignatii,  first  published  in  Latin  by 
Archbishop  Usher,  is  the  chief  evidence  for  the  cir- 
cumstances of  Ignatius'  death. 


28  36ioorapbtcal  Sfcetcb. 

In  the  time  of  Hadrian  it  was  no  longer  pos- 
sible for  the  Roman  government  to  overlook 
the  great  increase  of  the  Christians  and  the 
hostility  of  the  common  sort  to  them.  If  the 
governors  in  the  provinces  were  willing  to  let 
them  alone,  they  could  not  resist  the  fanaticism 
of  the  heathen  community,  who  looked  on  the 
Christians  as  atheists.  The  Jews  too,  who  were 
settled  all  over  the  Roman  Empire,  were  as 
hostile  to  the  Christians  as  the  Gentiles  were.* 
With  the  time  of  Hadrian  begin  the  Christian 
Apologies,  which  show  plainly  what  the  popu- 
lar feeling  towards  the  Christians  then  was. 
A  rescript  of  Hadrian  to  Minucius  Fundanus, 
the  Proconsul  of  Asia,  which  stands  at  the  end 
of  Justin's  first  Apology, t  instructs  the  gover- 

*  We  have  the  evidence  of  Justinus  (ad  Diognetum, 
c.  5)  to  this  effect:  "The  Christians  are  attacked  by 
the  Jews  as  if  they  were  men  of  a  different  race,  and 
are  persecuted  by  the  Greeks;  and  those  who  hate 
them  cannot,  give  the  reason  of  their  enniitv." 

t  And  in  Kusebins  (R.  II.  iv.  S,  9).  Orosius  (vii. 
13)  says  that  Hadrian  sent  this  rescript  to  Minnciu.s 
Fundanus,  proconsul  of  Asia  after  being  instructed 
in  books  written  on  the  Christian  religion  by  Onad- 
ratns,  a  disciple  of  the  Apostles,  ami  Aristides,  an 
Athenian,  an  honest  and  wise  man,  and  vSerenns 
Granius.  In  the  Greek  test  of  Hadrian's  rescript 
there  is  mentioned  Serenius  Granianns,  the  prede- 
cessor of  Minncins  Fundanus  in  the  government  of 
Asia. 

This  rescript  of  Hadrian  has  clearly  been  added  to 
*.lie  Apolofr;'  by  some  editor.  The  Apology  ends  with 
the  words  :  6  $fi.<jn  -'•:  'et:,  TOVTC  - 


Marcus  Bucclius  Bntoninus.  29 


nor  that  innocent  people  must  not  be  troubled, 
ind  false  accusers  must  not  be  allowed  to  extort 
money  from  them;  the  charges  against  the 
Christians  must  be  made  in  due  form,  and  no 
attention  must  be  paid  to  popular  clamors; 
when  Christians  were  regularly  prosecuted  and 
convicted  of  illegal  acts,  they  must  be  punished 
according  to  their  deserts;  and  false  accusers 
also  must  be  punished.  Antoninus  Pius  is  said 
tc  have  published  rescripts  to  the  same  effect. 
The  terms  of  Hadrian's  rescript  seem  very 
favorable  to  the  Christians;  but  if  we  under- 
stand it  in  this  sense,  that  they  were  only  to  be 
punished  like  other  people  for  illegal  acts,  it 
would  have  had  no  meaning,  for  that  could 
have  been  done  without  asking  the  emperor's 
advice.  The  real  purpose  of  the  rescript  is  that 
Christians  must  be  punished  if  they  persisted 
:.n  their  belief,  and  would  not  prove  their  re- 
nunciation of  it  by  acknowledging  the  heathen 
religion.  This  was  Trajan's  rule,  and  we  have 
no  reason  for  supposing  that  Hadrian  granted 
more  to  the  Christians  than  Trajan  did.  There 
is  also  printed  at  the  end  of  Justin's  first  Apol- 
ogy a  rescript  of  Antoninus  Pius  to  the  Com- 
mune of  (jtiKotvovTf/e'Aoiac),  and  it  is  also  in 
Euse'bius  (K.  H.  iv.  13).  The  date  of  the  re- 
script is  the  third  consulship  of  Antoninus 
Pius.*  The  rescript  declares  that  the  Chris- 

'•'•'  Kusebius  (K.  II.  iv.  12),  after  giving  the  beginning 
if  Trstinus'  first  Apology,  which  contains  the  address 


Sfcetcb. 


tians  —  for  they  are  meant,  though  the  name 
Christians  does  not  occur  in  the  rescript  —  were 
not  to  be  disturbed  unless  they  were  attempt- 
ing something  against  the  Roman  rule  ;  and 
no  man  \vas  to  be  punished  simply  for  being  a 
Christian.  But  this  rescript  is  spurious.  Any 
man  moderately  acquainted  with  Roman  his- 
tory will  see  by  the  style  and  tenor  that  it  is  a 
clumsy  forgery. 

In  the  time  of  M.  Antoninus  the  opposition 
between  the  old  and  the  new  belief  was  still 

to  T.  Antoninus  and  his  two  adopted  sons,  adds: 
"The  same  emperor  being  addressed  by  other  breth- 
ren in  Asia,  honored  the  Commune  of  Asia  with  the 
following  rescript."  This  rescript,  which  is  in  the 
tiext  chapter  of  Eusebius  (PC.  H.  iv.  131  is  in  the  sole 
name  of  Caesar  Marcus  Aurelins  Antoninus  Augustus 
Arinenius,  though  Kusebius  had  just  before  said  that 
he  was  going  to  give  us  a  rescript  of  Antoninus  Pius. 
There  are  some  material  variations  between  the  two 
copies  of  the  rescript  besides  the  difference  in  the 
title,  which  difference  makes  it  impossible  to  say 
whether  the  forger  intended  to  assign  this  rescript  to 
Pius  or  to  M.  Antoninus. 

The  author  of  the  Alexandrine  Chronic.  um  snys  that 
Marcus,  being  moved  by  the  entreaties  of  Melito  and 
other  heads  of  the  church,  wrote  an  Kpistle  to  the 
Commune  of  Asia  in  which  he  forbade  the  Christians 
to  be  troubled  on  account  of  their  religion.  Valesius 
supposes  this  to  be  the  letter  or  rescript  which  is  con- 
tained in  Kusebius  (iv.  131,  and  to  be  the  answer  to 
the  Apology  of  Melito,  of  which  I  shall  soon  give  the 
substance.  But  Marcus  certainly  did  not  write  this 
letter  which  is  in  Kusebius,  and  we  know  not  wha» 
answer  he  made  to  Melito. 


fldarcus  Burclfus  Bntoninus.  31 

stronger,  and  the  adherents  of  the  heathen 
religion  urged  those  in  authority  to  a  more 
regular  resistance  to  the  invasions  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  Melito  in  his  Apology  to  M. 
Antoninus  represents  the  Christians  of  Asia  as 
persecuted  under  new  imperial  orders.  Shame- 
less informers,  he  says,  men  who  were  greedy 
after  the  property  of  others,  used  these  orders 
as  a  means  of  robbing  those  who  were  doing 
no  harm.  He  doubts  if  a  just  emperor  could 
have  ordered  anything  so  unjust;  and  if  the 
last  order  was  really  not  from  the  emperor,  the 
Christians  entreat  him  not  to  give  them  up  to 
their  enemies. *  We  conclude  from  this  that 

*  Eusebius,  iv.  26;  and  Routh's  Reliquiae  Sacrae, 
vol.  I,  and  the  notes.  The  interpretation  of  this  Frag- 
ment is  not  easy.  Mosheim  misunderstood  one  pas- 
sage so  far  as  to  affirm  that  Marcus  promised  rewards 
to  those  who  denounced  the  Christians  ;  an  interpre- 
tation which  is  entirely  false.  Melito  calls  the  Chris- 
tian religion  "our  philosophy,"  which  began  among 
barbarians  (the  Jewsi,  and  flourished  among  the 
Roman  subjects  in  the  time  of  Augustus,  to  the  great 
advantage  of  the  empire,  for  from  that  time  the  power 
of  the  Romans  grew7  great  and  glorious.  He  says 
that  the  emperor  has  and  will  have  as  the  successor 
to  Augustus'  power  the  good  wishes  of  men,  if  he  will 
protect  that  philosophy  which  grew  up  with  the  em- 
pire and  began  with  Augustus,  which  philosophy  the 
predecessors  of  Antoninus  honored  in  addition  to  the 
other  religions.  He  further  says  that  the  Christian 
religion  had  suffered  no  harm  since  the  time  of  Au- 
gustus, but  on  the  contrary  had  enjoyed  all  honor  and 
respect  that  any  man  could  desire.  Xero  and  Domi- 


32  JBtograpbical  Sfcetcb. 

there  were  at  least  imperial  rescripts  or  consti- 
tutions of  M.  Antoninus  which  were  made  the 
foundation  of  these  persecutions.  The  fact  of 
being  a  Christian  was  now  a  crime  and  pun- 
ished, unless  the  accused  denied  their  religion. 
Then  come  the  persecutions  at  Smyrna,  which 
some  modern  critics  place  in  A.  D.  167,  ten 

tian,  lie  says,  -were  alone  persuaded  by  some  malicious 
men  to  calumniate  the  Christian  religion,  and  this 
•was  the  origin  of  the  false  charges  against  the  Chris- 
tians. But  this  \vas  corrected  by  the  emperors  \\ho 
immediately  preceded  Antoninus,  who  often  by  their 
rescripts  reproved  those  who  attempted  to  trouble  the 
Christians.  Hadrian,  Antoninus'  grandfather,  wrote 
to  many,  and  among  them  to  I'lindanus,  the  governor 
of  Asia.  Antoninus  Pius,  when  Marcus  was  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  the  empire,  wrote  to  the  cities  that 
thev  must  not  trouble  the  Christians  ;  among  others, 
to  the  people  of  Larissa,  Thessalonica,  the  Athenians, 
and  all  the  Greeks.  Melito  concluded  thus:  "We 
are  persuaded  that  thou  who  hast  about  these  things 
the  same  mind  that  thev  had,  nav  rather  one  much 
more  humane  and  philosophical,  wilt  do  all  that  we 
ask  thee." — This  Apology  was  written  alter  A.  D.  169, 
the  year  in  which  Verus  died,  for  it  speaks  of  Marcus 
only  and  his  son  Cominodus.  Accoiding  to  Melito's 
testimony,  Christians  had  onlv  been  punished  for 
their  religion  in  the  time  of  Nero  and  Domitian,  and 
the  persecutions  began  again  in  the  time  of  M. 
Antoninus,  and  were  founded  on  his  orders,  which 
were  abused,  as  lie  seems  to  mean.  He  distinctly 
affirms  "  that  the  race  of  the  godly  is  now  persecuted 
and  harassed  by  fresh  imperial  orders  in  Asia,  a  thing 
winch  had  never  happened  before."  But  we  know 
that  all  this  is  not  true,  and  that  Christians  had  been 
punished  in  Trajan's  time. 


Aarcus  Burclfu*  antonfnus, 


years  before  the  persecution  of  Lyon.  The 
governors  of  the  provinces  under  M.  Antoni- 
nus might  have  found  enough  even  in  Trajan's 
rescript  to  warrant  them  in  punishing  Chris- 
tians, and  the  fanaticism  of  the  people  would 
drive  them  to  persecution,  even  if  they  were 
unwilling.  But  besides  the  fact  of  the  Chris- 
tians rejecting  all  the  heathen  ceremonies,  we 
must  not  forget  that  they  plainly  maintain  that 
all  the  heathen  religions  were  false.  The 
Christians  thus  declared  war  against  the  hea- 
then rites,  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe 
that  this  was  a  declaration  of  hostility  against 
the  Roman  government,  which  tolerated  all  the 
various  forms  of  superstition  that  existed  in 
the  empire,  and  could  not  consistently  tolerate 
another  religion,  which  declared  that  all  the 
rest  were  false  and  all  the  splendid  ceremonies 
of  the  empire  only  a  worship  of  devils. 

If  we  had  a  true  ecclesiastical  history,  we 
should  know  how  the  Roman  emperors  at- 
tempted to  check  the  new  religion;  how  they 
enforced  their  principle  of  finally  punishing 
Christians,  simply  as  Christians,  which  Justin 
in  his  Apology  affirms  that  they  did,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  that  he  tells  the  truth;  how  far 
popular  clamor  and  riots  went  in  this  matter, 
and  how  far  many  fanatical  and  ignorant  Chris- 
tians —  for  there  were  many  such  —  contributed 
to  excite  the  fanaticism  on  the  other  side  and 
to  embitter  the  quarrel  between  the  Roman 
government  and  the  new  religion.  Our  extant 
3 


34 


Sfcetcb. 


ecclesiastical  histories  are  manifestly  falsified, 
and  what  truth  they  contain  is  grossly  exag- 
gerated; but  the  fact  is  certain  that  in  the  time 
of  M.  Antoninus  the  heathen  populations  were 
in  open  hostility  to  the  Christians,  and  that 
under  Antoninus'  rule  men  were  put  to  death 
because  they  were  Christians.  Eusebius,  in 
the  preface  to  his  fifth  book,  remarks  that  in 
the  seventeenth  year  of  Antoninus'  reign,  in 
some  parts  of  the  world,  the  persecution  of  the 
Christians  became  more  violent,  and  that  it 
proceeded  from  the  populace  in  the  cities;  and 
he  adds,  in  his  usual  style  of  exaggeration,  that 
we  may  infer  from  what  took  place  in  a  single 
nation  that  myriads  of  martyrs  were  made  in 
the  habitable  earth.  The  nation  which  he 
alludes  to  is  Gallia;  and  he  then  proceeds  to 
give  the  letter  of  the  churches  of  Vienna  and 
lyiigdunum.  It  is  probable  that  he  hasassiged 
the  true  cause  of  the  persecutions,  the  fanati- 
cism of  the  populace,  and  that  both  governors 
and  emperor  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  with 
these  disturbances.  How  far  Marcus  was  cog- 
nizant of  these  cruel  proceedings  we  do  not 
know,  for  the  historical  records  of  his  reign  are 
very  defective.  He  did  not  make  the  rule 
against  the  Christians,  for  Trajan  did  that;  and 
if  we  admit  that  he  would  have  been  willing 
to  let  the  Christians  alone,  we  cannot  affirm 
that  it  was  in  his  power,  for  it  would  be  a  great 
mistake  to  suppose  that  Antoninus  had  the  un- 
limited authority  which  some  modern  sove.- 


/toarcus  Surclius  Hntonlnus. 


35 


reigns  have  had.  His  power  was  limited  by 
certain  constitutional  forms,  by  the  vSenate,  and 
by  the  precedents  of  his  predecessors.  We 
cannot  admit  that  such  a  man  was  an  active 
persecutor,  for  there  is  no  evidence  that  he 
was/1'  though  it  is  certain  that  he  had  no  good 
opinion  of  the  Christians,  as  appears  from  his 
own  words. I  But  he  knew  nothing  of  them 

"x  Ivxccpt  that  of  Orosius  (vii.  151,  \vho  says  that 
during  the  Parthian  war  there  were  grievous  perse- 
cutions of  the  Christians  in  Asia  and  Gallia  under  the 
orders  of  Marcus  (praeccpto  ejus),  and  "  many  were 
crowned  with  the  martyrdom  of  saints." 

t  See  xi.  3.  The  emperor  probably  speaks  of  such 
fanatic's  as  Clemens  (quoted  by  Gatnker  on  this  pas- 
sage i  mentions.  The  rational  Christians  admitted  no 
fellowship  with  them.  "Some  of  these  heretics," 
says  Clemens,  "  show  their  impiety  and  cowardice  by 
loving  their  lives,  saying  that  the  knowledge  of  the 
really  existing  God  is  true  testimony  'martyrdom), 
but  that  a  man  is  a  self-murderer  who  bears  witness 
by  his  death.  \Ve  also  blame  those  who  rush  i<\ 
death;  for  there  are  some,  not  of  us,  but  only  bearing 
the  same  name,  who  give  themselves  up.  We  say  of 
them  that  they  die  without  being  martyrs,  even  if  they 
are  publicly  punished;  and  they  give  themselves  up 
'to  a  death  which  avails  nothing,  as  the  Indian  Gym- 
nosophists  give  themselves  up  foolishly  to  lire." 
Cave,  in  his  primitive  Christianity  (ii.  c.  7),  says  of 
the  Christians:  "They  did  Hock  to  the  place  of  tor- 
ment faster  than  droves  of  beasts  that  are  driven  to 
the  shambles.  They  even  longed  to  be  in  the  arms 
of  suffering.  Ignatius,  though  then  in  his  journey  to 
Rome  in  order  to  his  execution,  yet  by  the  way  as  he 
went  could  not  but  vent  his  passionate  desire  of  i* 


36  astoorapbical  Sfeetcb. 

except  their  hostility  to  the  Roman  religion, 
and  he  probably  thought  that  they  were  dan- 
gerous to  the  state,  notwithstanding  the  pro- 
fessions, false  or  true,  of  some  of  the  Apologists, 
So  much  I  have  said,  because  it  would  be  un- 
fair not  to  state  all  that  can  be  urged  against 
a  man  whom  his  contemporaries  and  subse- 
quent ages  venerated  as  a  model  of  virtue  and 
benevolence.  If  I  admitted  the  genuineness  of 
some  documents,  he  would  be  altogether  clear 
from  the  charge  of  even  allowing  any  persecu- 
tions; but  as  I  seek  the  truth  and  am  sure  that 
they  are  false,  I  leave  him  to  bear  whatever 
blame  is  his  due.*  I  add  that  it  is  quite  cer- 
tain that  Antoninus  did  not  derive  any  of  his 

'  Oh  that  I  might  come  to  those  wild  beasts  that  are 
prepared  for  me;  I  heartily  wish  that  I  may  presently 
meet  with  them;  I  would  invite  and  encourage  them 
speedily  to  devour  me,  and  not  be  afraid  to  set  upon 
me  as  they  have  been  to  others;  nay,  should  they  re- 
fuse it,  I  would  even  force  them  to  it;'  "  and  more  to 
the  same  purpose  from  Eusebius.  Cave,  an  honest 
and  good  man,  says  all  this  in  praise  of  the  Christians; 
but  I  think  that  he  mistook  the  matter.  We  admire 
a  man  who  holds  to  his  principles  even  to  death;  but 
these  fanatical  Christians  are  the  Gymnosophists 
whom  Clemens  treats  with  disdain. 

~M)r.  F.  C.  Baur,  in  his  work  entitled  "Das 
Christenthum  und  die  Christliche  Kirche  der  'drei 
ersten  Jahrhunderte,"  &c.,  has  examined  this  ques- 
tion with  great  good  sense  and  fairness,  and  I  believe 
be  has  stated  the  truth  as  near  as  our  authorities  en- 
able us  to  reach  it. 


/Ifoarcus  Burclius  Bntoninus. 


ethical  principles  from  a  religion  of  which  he 
knew  nothing.* 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Emperor's  Re- 
flections —  or  his  Meditations,  as  they  are  gen- 
erally named  —  is  a  genuine  work.  In  the  first 
book  he  speaks  of  himself,  his  family,  and  his 
teachers;  and  in  other  books  he  mentions  him- 
self. Snidas  (v.  M(/'/wor)  notices  a  \vork  of 
Antoninus  in  twelve  books,  which  he  names 
the  "conduct  of  his  own  life;"  and  he  cites 
the  book  under  several  words  in  his  Dictionary, 
giving  the  emperor's  name,  but  not  the  title 
of  the  work.  There  are  also  passages  cited  by 
Suidas  from  Antoninus  without  mention  of  the 
emperor's  name.  The  true  title  of  the  work  is 
unknown.  Xy  lander,  who  published  the  first 
edition  of  this  book  (Zurich,  1558,  8vo,  with  a 
Latin  version),  used  a  manuscript  which  con- 
tained the  twelve  books,  but  it  is  not  known 
where  the  manuscript  is  now.  The  only  other 
complete  manuscript  which  is  known  to  exist 
is  in  the  Vatican  library,  but  it  has  no  title 
and  no  inscriptions  of  the  several  books:  the 
eleventh  only  has  the  inscription,  M<//>«>u  avroKpa- 
ropof  marked  with  an  asterisk.  The  other 
Vatican  manuscripts  and  the  three  Florentine 
contain  only  excerpts  from  the  emperor's  book. 

*  In  the  Digest,  4S,  19,  30,  there  is  the  following  ex- 
cerpt from  Modestinus:  "  Si  qnis  aliquid  fecerit,  quo 
leves  liomiiium  aninii  superstitione  numinis  terrereu- 
tur,  divus  Marcus  hujusmodi  homines  in  insulam  re- 
legari  rescripsit.  " 


JBiograpbfcal  Sfcetcb. 


All  the  titles  of  the  excerpts  nearly  agree  with 
that  which  Xylander  prefixed  to  his  edition, 

VLapmv  'Avruvivov  A-vronparopoQ  TUV  eif  eavrov  (3i/3fca  i/3. 

This  title  has  been  used  by  all  subsequent 
editors.  We  cannot  tell  whether  Antoninus 
divided  his  work  into  books  or  somebody  else 
did  it.  If  the  inscriptions  at  the  end  of  the 
first  and  second  books  are  genuine,  he  may 
have  made  the  division  himself. 

It  is  plain  that  the  emperor  wrote  down  his 
thoughts  or  reflections  as  the  occasions  arose; 
and  since  they  were  intended  for  his  own  use, 
it  is  no  improbable  conjecture  that  he  left  a 
complete  copy  behind  him  written  with  his 
own  hand;  for  it  is  not  likely  that  so  diligent 
a  man  would  use  the  labor  of  a  transcriber  for 
such  a  purpose,  and  expose  his  most  secret 
thoughts  to  any  other  eye.  He  may  have  also 
intended  the  book  for  his  son  Commodus,  who 
however  had  no  taste  for  his  father's  philos- 
ophy. Some  careful  hand  preserved  the 
precious  volume;  and  a  work  by  Antoninus  is 
mentioned  by  other  late  writers  besides  Suidas. 

Many  critics  have  labored  on  the  text  of 
Antoninus.  The  most  complete  edition  is  that 
by  Thomas  Gataker,  1652,  4to.  The  second 
edition  of  Gataker  was  superintended  by  George 
Stanhope,  1697,  4to.  There  is  also  an  edition 
of  1704.  Gataker  made  and  suggested  many 
good  corrections,  and  he  also  made  a  new 
Latin  version,  which  is  not  a  very  good  speci- 
men of  Latin,  but  it  generally  expresses  the 


/fcarcus  aurcltus  Bntoninus.  39 

sense  of  the  original,  and  often  better  than 
some  of  the  more  recent  translations.  He 
added  in  the  margin  opposite  to  each  para- 
graph references  to  the  other  parallel  passages; 
and  he  wrote  a  commentary,  one  of  the  most 
complete  that  has  been  written  on  any  ancient 
aithor.  This  commentary  contains  the  editor's 
exposition  of  the  more  difficult  passages,  and 
quotations  from  all  the  Greek  and  Roman 
writers  for  the  illustration  of  the  text.  It  is  a 
wonderful  monument  of  learning  and  labor, 
and  certainly  no  Englishman  has  yet  done 
anything  like  it.  At  the  end  of  his  preface 
the  editor  says  that  he  wrote  it  at  Rotherhithe 
aear  London,  in  a  severe  winter,  when  he  was 
in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age,  1651 — a 
time  when  Milton,  Selden,  and  other  great 
men  of  the  Commonwealth  time  were  living; 
and  the  great  French  scholar  Saumaise  (Salma- 
sius),  with  whom  Gataker  corresponded  and 
received  help  from  him  for  his  edition  of  An- 
toninus. The  Greek  test  has  also  been  edited 
by  J.  M.  Schultx,  Leipzig,  1802,  8vo;  and  by 
the  learned  Greek  Adamantinus  Corais,  Paris, 
1816,  8vo.  The  text  of  Schultz  was  repub- 
iished  by  Tauchnitz,  1821. 

There  are  English,  German,  French,  Italian, 
and  Spanish  translations  of  M.  Antoninus,  and 
there  may  be  others.  I  have  not  seen  all  the 
English  translations.  There  is  one  by  Jeremy 
Collier,  1702,  8vo,  a  most  coarse  and  vulgar 
copy  of  the  original.  The  latest  French  trans- 


40 


Sfceteb. 


lation  by  Alexis  Pierron  in  the  collection  of 
Charpentier  is  better  than  Dacier's,  which  has 
been  honored  with  an  Italian  version  (Udine, 
1772).  There  is  an  Italian  version  (1675), 
which  I  have  not  seen.  It  is  by  a  cardinal. 
"  A  man  illustrious  in  the  church,  the  Cardinal 
Francis  Earberini  the  elder,  nephew  of  Pope 
Urban  VIII.,  occupied  the  last  years  of  his  life 
in  translating  into  his  native  language  the 
thoughts  of  the  Roman  emperor,  in  order  to 
diffuse  among  the  faithful  the  fertilizing  and 
vivifying  seeds.  He  dedicated  this  translation 
to  his  soul,  to  make  it,  as  he  says  in  his  ener- 
getic style,  redder  than  his  purple  at  the  sight 
of  the  virtues  of  this  Gentile "  (Pierron, 
Preface). 

I  have  made  this  translation  at  intervals 
after  having  used  the  book  for  many  years.  It 
is  made  from  the  Greek,  but  I  have  not  always 
followed  one  text;  and  I  have  occasionally 
compared  other  versions  with  my  own.  I  made 
this  translation  for  my  own  use,  because  I 
found  that  it  was  worth  the  labor;  but  it  may 
be  useful  to  others  also;  and  therefore  I  deter- 
mined to  print  it.  As  the  original  is  some- 
times very  difficult  to  understand  and  still 
more  difficult  to  translate,  it  is  not  possible 
that  I  have  always  avoided  error.  But  I  be- 
lieve that  I  have  not  often  missed  the  meaning, 
and  those  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  compare 
the  translation  with  the  original  should  not 
hastily  conclude  that  I  am  wrong,  if  they  do 


Burclius  Bntoninus.  41 


not  agree  with  me.  Some  passages  do  give  the 
meaning,  though  at  first  sight  they  may  not 
appear  to  do  so;  and  when  I  differ  from  the 
translators,  I  think  that  in  some  places  they 
are  "wrong,  and  in  other  places  I  am  sure  that 
they  are.  I  have  placed  in  some  passages  a  +, 
which  indicates  corruption  in  the  text  or  great 
uncertainty  in  the  meaning.  I  could  have 
made  the  language  more  easy  and  flowing,  but 
I  have  preferred  a  ruder  style  as  being  better 
suited  to  express  the  character  of  the  original; 
and  sometimes  the  obscurity  which  may  ap- 
pear in  the  version  is  a  fair  copy  of  the  obscur- 
ity of  the  Greek.  If  I  should  ever  revise  this 
version,  I  would  gladly  make  use  of  any  cor- 
rections which  may  be  suggested.  I  have 
added  an  index  of  some  of  the  Greek  terms 
with  the  corresponding  English.  If  I  have 
not  given  the  best  words  for  the  Greek,  I  have 
done  the  best  that  I  could;  and  in  the  text  I 
have  always  giyen  the  same  translation  of  the 
same  word. 

The  last  reflection  of  the  Stoic  philosophy 
that  I  have  observed  is  in  Simplicius'  Com- 
mentary on  the  Enchiridion  of  Epictetus. 
Simplicius  was  not  a  Christian,  and  such  a  man 
was  not  likely  to  be  converted  at  a  time  when 
\Christianity  was  grossly  corrupted.  But  he 
was  a  really  religious  man,  and  he  concludes 
his  commentary  with  a  prayer  to  the  Deity 
which  no  Christian  could  improve.  From  the 
time  of  Zeno  to  Simplicius,  a  period  of  about 


42  asiograpbical  Sfcetcb. 

nine  hundred  years,  the  Stoic  philosophy 
formed  the  characters  of  some  of  the  best  and 
greatest  men.  Finally  it  became  extinct,  and 
we  hear  no  more  of  it  till  the  revival  of  letters 
in  Italy.  Angelo  Poliziano  met  with  two  very 
inaccurate  and  incomplete  manuscripts  of 
Epictetus'  Enchiridion,  which  he  translated 
into  Latin  and  dedicated  to  his  great  patron 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  in  whose  collection  he  had 
found  the  book.  Poliziano' s  version  was 
printed  in  the  first  Bale  edition  of  the  Enchir- 
idion, A.  D.  1531  (apud  And.  Cratandrum). 
Poliziano  recommends  the  Enchiridion  to 
Lorenzo  as  a  work  well  suited  to  his  temper, 
and  useful  in  the  difficulties  by  which  he  was 
surrounded. 

Epictetus  and  Antoninus  have  had  readers 
ever  since  they  were  first  printed.  The  little 
book  of  Antoninus  has  been  the  companion  of 
some  great  men.  Machiavelli's  Art  of  War 
and  Marcus  Antoninus  were  the  two  books 
which  were  used  when  he  was  a  young  man  by 
Captain  John  Smith,  and  he  could  not  have 
found  two  writers  better  fitted  to  form  the  char- 
acter of  a  soldier  and  a  man.  Smith  is  almost 
unknown  and  forgotten  in  England,  his  native 
country,  but  not  in  America,  where  he  saved 
the  young  colony  of  Virginia.  He  was  great 
in  his  heroic  mind  and  his  deeds  in  arms,  but 
greater  still  in  the  nobleness  of  his  character. 
For  a  man's  greatness  lies  not  in  wealth  and 
station,  as  the  vulgar  believe,  nor  yet  in  his 


B  Burclfus  Sntoninu0. 


43 


intellectual  capacity,  which  is  often  associated 
with  the  meanest  moral  character,  the  most  ab- 
ject servility  to  those  in  high  places,  and  arro- 
gance to  the  poor  and  lowly;  but  a  man's  true 
greatness  lies  in  the  consciousness  of  an  honest 
purpose  in  life,  founded  on  a  just  estimate  of 
himself  and  everything  else,  on  frequent  self- 
examination,  and  a  steady  obedience  to  the  rule 
which  he  knows  to  be  right,  without  troubling 
himself,  as  the  emperor  says  he  should  not, 
about  what  others  may  think  or  say,  or  whether 
they  do  or  do  not  do  that  which  he  thinks  and 
says  and  does. 


THE  PHILOSOPHY 


OF 


MARCUS  AURELIUS  ANTONINUS. 


THE  PHILOSOPHY 

OF 

MARCUS  AURELIUS  ANTONINUS. 


IT  has  been  said  that  the  Stoic  philosophy 
first  showed  its  real  value  when  it  passed 
from  Greece  to  Rome.  The  doctrines  of  Zeno 
and  his  successors  were  well  suited  to  the  grav- 
ity and  practical  good  sense  of  the  Romans; 
and  even  in  the  Republican  period  we  have  an 
example  of  a  man,  M.  Cato  Uticensis,  who 
lived  the  life  of  a  Stoic  and  died  consistently 
with  the  opinions  which  he  professed.  He  was 
a  man,  says  Cicero,  who  embraced  the  Stoic 
philosophy  from  conviction;  not  for  the  purpose 
of  vain  discussion,  as  most  did,  but  in  order  to 
make  his  life  conformable  to  the  Stoic  precepts. 
In  the  wretched  times  from  the  death  of 
Augustus  to  the  murder  of  Domitian,  there 
was  nothing  but  the  Stoic  philosophy  which 
could  console  and  support  the  followers  of  the 
old  religion  under  imperial  tyranny  and  amidst 
universal  corruption.  There  were  even  theti 
(47) 


48 


noble  minds  that  could  dare  and  endure, 
sustained  by  a  good  conscience  and  an  elevated 
idea  of  the  purposes  of  man's  existence.  Such 
were  Paetus  Thrasae,  Helvidius  Priscus,  Cor- 
nutus,  C.  Musouius  Rufus,*  and  the  poets 
Persius  and  Juvenal,  whose  energetic  language 
and  manly  thoughts  may  be  as  instructive  to 
us  now  as  they  might  have  been  to  their  con- 
temporaries. Persius  died  under  Nero's  bloody 
reign;  but  Juvenal  had  the  good  fortune  to 
survive  the  tyrant  Domitian  and  to  see  the 
better  times  of  Nerva,  Trajan,  and  Hadrian. f 
His  best  precepts  are  derived  from  the  Stoic 
school,  and  they  are  enforced  in  his  finest  verses 
by  the  unrivalled  vigor  of  the  Latin  language. 
The  best  two  expounders  of  the  later  Stoical 
philosophy  were  a  Greek  slave  and  a  Roman 
emperor.  Epictetus,  a  Phrygian  Greek,  was 

*  I  have  omitted  Seneca,  Nero's  preceptor.  He  was 
in  a  sense  a  vStoic,  and  he  has  said  many  good  things 
in  a  very  fine  way.  There  is  a  judgment  of  Gellius 
(xii.  2.)  on  Seneca,  or  rather  a  statement  of  what 
some  people  thought  of  his  philosophy,  and  it  is  not 
favorable.  His  writings  and  his  life  must  be  taken 
together,  and  I  have  nothing  more  to  say  of  him  here. 
The  reader  will  find  a  notice  of  Seneca  and  his  phil- 
osophy in  "Seekers  after  God,"  by  the  Rev.  F.  W. 
I'arrar.  Macmillan  and  Co. 

t  Ribbeck  has  labored  to  prove  that  those  Satires. 
which  contain  philosophical  precepts,  are  not  the 
work  of  the  real,  but  of  a  false  Juvenal,  a  Ueclamator. 
Still  the  verses  exist,  and  were  written  by  somebody 
who  was  acquainted  with  the  Stoic  doctrines. 


/fcarcue  SurclfUB  Bntontmis. 


49 


brought  to  Rome,  we  know  not  how,  but  he 
was  there  the  slave  and  afterwards  the  freed- 
mau  of  an  unworthy  master,  Epaphroditus 

by  name,  himself  a  freedman  and  a  favorite 
of  Nero.  Kpictetus  may  have  been  a  hearer 
of  C.  Musonius  Rufus,  while  he  was  still  a 
slave,  but  he  could  hardly  have  been  a  teacher 
before  he  was  made  free.  lie  was  one  of  the. 
philosophers  whom  Domitian's  order  banished 
from  Rome.  He  retired  to  Xicopolis  in  Epi- 
rus,  and  he  may  have  died  there.  Like  other 
great  teachers  he  wrote  nothing,  and  we  are 
indebted  to  his  grateful  pupil  Arrian  for  what 
we  have  of  Epictetus'  discourses.  Arrian  wrote 
eight  books  of  the  discourses  of  Epietetus,  of 
which  only  four  remain  and  some  fragments. 
"We  have  also  from  Arrian's  hand  the  small 
Enchiridion  or  Manual  of  the  chief  precepts  of 
Epictetus.  This  is  a  valuable  commentary  on 
the  Enchiridion  by  Simplicius,  who  lived  in 
the  time  of  the  emperor  Justinian. * 

Antoninus  in  his  first  book  (i.  7"),  in  which 
he  gratefully  commemorates  his  obligations  to 
his  teachers,  says  that  he  was  made  acquainted 
by  Junius  Rusticus  with  the  discourses  of 
Epictetus,  whom  he  mentions  also  in  other 
passages  (iv.  41;  xi.  34,  36).  Indeed,  the  doc- 
trines of  Epictetus  and  Antoninus  are  the  same, 

*  There  is  a  complete  edition  of  Arrian's  Epictetus 
with  the  commentary  of  Simplicius  by  J.  Schwei,tf- 
haeuser,  6  vols.  Svo.  1799,  iSoo.  There  is  also  au 
English  translation  of  Epictetus  by  Mrs.  Carter. 

M  sh 


50  pbtlosopbs. 


and  Epictetus  is  the  best  authority  for  the  ex- 
planation of  the  philosophical  language  of  An- 
toninus and  the  exposition  of  his  opinions. 
But  the  method  of  the  two  philosophers  is  en- 
tirely different.  Epictetus  addressed  himself 
to  his  hearers  in  a  continuous  discourse  and  in 
a  familiar  and  simple  manner.  Antoninus 
wrote  down  his  reflections  for  his  own  use 
only,  in  short,  unconnected  paragraphs,  which 
are  often  obscure. 

The  Stoics  made  three  divisions  of  philoso- 
phy,— Physic  (ovciK6v),  Ethic  (i/ihK6v\  and  Logic 
(/.0-,-iKov)  (viii.  13).  This  division,  we  are  told 
by  Diogenes,  was  made  by  Zeno  of  Citium, 
the  founder  of  the  Stoic  sect,  and  by  Chrysip- 
pus;  but  these  philosophers  placed  the  three 
divisions  in  the  following  order,  —  Logic, 
Physic,  Ethic.  It  appears,  however,  that  this 
division  was  made  before  Zeno's  time,  and  ac- 
knowledged by  Plato,  as  Cicero  remarks  (Acad. 
Post.  i.  5).  Logic  is  not  synonymous  with 
our  term  Logic  in  the  narrower  sense  of  that 
word. 

Cleanthes,  a  Stoic,  subdivided  the  three  di- 
visions, and  made  six, — Dialectic  and  Rhet- 
oric, comprised  in  Logic  ;  Ethic  and  Politic  ; 
Physic  and  Theology.  This  division  was 
merely  for  practical  use,  for  all  Philosophy  is 
one.  Even  among  the  earliest  Stoics  Logic,  or 
Dialectic,  does  not  occupy  the  same  place  as  in 
Plato:  it  is  considered  only  as  an  instrument 
which  is  to  be  used  for  the  other  divisions  of 


Burclius  Hntoninu0. 


Philosophy.  An  exposition  of  the  earlier 
Stoic  doctrines  and  of  their  modifications  would 
require  a  volume.  My  object  is  to  explain 
only  the  opinions  of  Antoninus,  so  far  as  they 
can  be  collected  from  his  book. 

According  to  the  subdivision  of  Cleanthes, 
Physic  and  Theology  go  together,  or  the  study 
of  the  nature  of  Things,  and  the  study  of  the 
nature  of  the  Deity,  so  far  as  man  can  under- 
stand the  Deity,  and  of  his  government  of  the 
universe.  This  division  or  subdivision  is  not 
formally  adopted  by  Antoninus,  for.  as  already 
observed,  there  is  no  method  in  his  book  ;  but 
it  is  virtually  contained  in  it. 

Cleanthes  also  connects  Ethic  and  Politic,  or 
the  study  of  the  principles  of  morals  and  the 
study  of  the  constitution  of  civil  society;  and 
undoubtedly  he  did  well  in  subdividing  Hthic 
into  two  parts,  Kthic  in  the  narrower  sense  and 
Politic;  for  though  the  two  are  intimately  con- 
nected, they  are  also  very  distinct,  and  many 
questions  can  only  be  properly  discussed  by 
carefully  observing  the  distinction.  Antoniins 
does  not  treat  of  Politic.  His  subject  is  Ethic, 
and  Ethic  in  its  practical  application  to  his 
own  conduct  in  life  as  a  man  and  as  a  gover- 
nor. His  Ethic  is  founded  on  his  doctrines 
about  man's  nature,  the  Universal  Nature,  and 
the  relation  of  every  man  to  everything  else. 
It  is  therefore  intimately  and  inseparably  con- 
nected with  Physic,  or  the  Nature  of  Things, 
and  with  Theology,  or  the  Nature  of  the  Deity. 


He  advises  us  to  examine  well  all  the  impres- 
sions on  our  minds  (oavraaiai)  and  to  form  a 
right  judgment  of  them,  to  make  just  conclu- 
sions, and  to  inquire  into  the  meanings  of 
words,  and  so  far  to  apply  Dialectic;  but  he 
has  no  attempt  at  any  exposition  of  Dialectic, 
and  his  philosophy  is  in  substance  purely 
moral  and  practical.  He  says  (viii.  13), 
"  Constant!}'  and,  if  it  be  possible,  on  the  oc- 
casion of  every  impression  on  the  soul,*  apply 
to  it  the  principles  of  Physic,  of  Bthic,  and  of 
Dialectic:"  which  is  only  another  way  of  tell- 
ing us  to  examine  the  impression  in  every  pos< 
sible  way.  In  another  passage  (iii.  uj  he 
says,  "To  the  aids  which  have  been  men- 
tioned, let  this  one  still  be  added:  make  for 
thyself  a  definition  or  description  of  the  object 
(70  oavruaror)  which  is  presented  to  thee,  so  as 
to  see  distinctly  what  kind  of  a  thing  it  is  in 
its  substance,  in  its  nudity,  in  its  complete  en- 
tirety, and  tell  thyself  its  proper  name,  and  the 
names  of  the  things  of  which  it  has  been  com- 

-  The  original  is  i~l  -^uaric,  fjavrnmaq.  We  have  no 
word  which  expresses  onrracjlu,  for  it  is  not  only  the 
sensuous  appearance  which  conies  from  an  external 
object,  which  object  is  called  ri>  oav-uarov,  but  it  is 
also  the  thought  or  feeling  or  opinion  which  is  pro- 
duced even  when  there  is  no  corresponding  external 
object  before  us.  Accordingly  everything  which 
moves  the  soul  is  <'javr<ir;-6i\  and  produces  a  ouv-aaiti. 

In  this  extract  Antoninus  says  Qvatotoyslv,  rraOohoyt-iv, 
(ha/.£KT/Ksi cai/ai.  I  have  translated  —uttti/.oytlv  by  using 
the  word  Moral  (Kthic),  and  that  is  the  meaning  here. 


Marcus  Hurclius  Bntonfnus. 


53 


pounded,  and  into  which  it  will  he  resolved." 
Such  an  examination  implies  a  use  of  Dialectic, 
which  Antoninus  accordingly  employed  as  a. 
means  toward  establishing  his  Physical,  Theo- 
logical, and  Kthical  principles. 

There  are  several  expositions  of  the  Physical, 
Theological,  and  Kthical  principles,  which  are 
contained  in  the  work  of  Antoninus;  and  more 
expositions  than  I  have  read.  Ritter  (Ge- 
>chichte  der  Philosophic,  iv.  241),  after  explain- 
ing the  doctrines  of  Kpictetus,  treats  very 
briefly  and  insufficiently  those  of  Antoninus. 
But  he  refers  to  a  short  essay,  in  which  the 
work  is  done  better.*  There  is  also  an  essay 
on  the  Philosophical  Principles  of  M.  Aurelius 
Antoninus  by  j.  M.  Schultz,  placed  at  the  end 
of  his  German  translation  of  Antoninus  (Schles- 
wig,  1799).  \Vith  the  assistance  of  these  two 
useful  essaj-s  and  his  own  diligent  study,  a  man 
may  form  a  sufficient  notion  of  the  principles 
of  Antoninus;  but  he  will  find  it  more  difficult 
to  expound  them  to  others.  Besides  the  want 
of  arrangement  in  the  original  and  of  connec- 
tion among  the  numerous  paragraphs,  the 
corruption  of  the  text,  the  obscurity  of  the  lan- 
guage and  the  style,  and  sometimes  perhaps 
the  confusion  in  the  writer's  own  ideas — besides 
all  this,  there  is  occasionally  an  apparent  con- 

*  De  Marco  Aurelio  Antonino  ...  ex  ipsius  Com- 
mentariis.  Scriptio  I'hilologica.  lustituit  Nicolaus 
Bachius,  Lipsiae,  1826. 


54  ipbflosopbg. 

tradiction  in  the  emperor's  thoughts,  as  if  his 
principles  were  sometimes  unsettled,  as  if  doubt 
sometimes  clouded  his  mind.  A  man  who  leads 
a  life  of  tranquillity  and  reflection,  who  is  not 
disturbed  at  home  and  meddles  not  with  the 
affairs  of  the  world,  ma}'  keep  his  mind  at  ease 
and  his  thoughts  in  one  even  course.  But 
such  a  man  has  not  been  tried.  All  his  Bthical 
philosophy  and  his  passive  virtue  might  turn 
out  to  be  idle  words,  if  he  wrere  once  exposed 
to  the  rude  realities  of  human  existence.  Fine 
thoughts  and  moral  dissertations  from  men  who 
have  not  worked  and  suffered  may  be  read, 
but  they  will  be  forgotten.  No  religion,  no 
Bthical  philosophy  is  worth  anything,  if  the 
teacher  has  not  lived  the  "life  of  an  apostle," 
and  been  ready  to  die  "  the  death  of  a  martyr." 
"Not  in  passivity  (the  passive  effects)  but  in 
activity  lie  the  evil  and  the  good  of  the  rational 
social  animal,  just  as  his  virtue  ami  his  vice  lie 
not  in  passivity,  but  in  activity"  (ix.  i6j.  The 
emperor  Antoninus  was  a  practical  moralist. 
From  his  youth  he  followed  a  laborious  disci- 
pline, and  though  his  high  station  placed  him 
above  all  want  or  the  fear  of  it,  he  lived  as  fru- 
gally and  temperately  as  the  poorest  philospher. 
Epictetiis  wanted  little,  and  it  seems  that  he 
always  had  the  little  that  he  wanted  and  he 
was  content  with  it,  as  he  had  been  with 
his  servile  station!  But  Antoninus  after  his 
accession  to  the  empire  sat  on  an  uneasy 
seat.  He  had  the  administration  of  an  em- 


flfoarcus  Burclius  Bntoninus.  55 


pire  which  extended  from  the  Kuphrates  to 
the  Atlantic,  from  the  cold  mountains  of  Scot- 
land to  the  hot  sands  of  Africa;  and  we  may 
imagine,  though  we  cannot  know  it  by  expe- 
rience, what  must  be  the  trials,  the  troubles, 
the  anxiety,  and  the  sorrows  of  him  who  has 
the  world's  business  on  his  hands,  with  the 
wish  to  do  the  best  that  he  can,  and  the  cer- 
tain knowledge  that  he  can  do  very  little  of 
the  good  which  he  wishes. 

In  the  midst  of  war,  pestilence,  conspiracy, 
general  corruption,  and  with  the  weight  of  so 
unwieldy  an  empire  upon  him,  we  may  easily 
comprehend  that  Antoninus  often  had  need  of 
all  his  fortitude  to  support  him.  The  best  and 
the  bravest  men  have  moments  of  doubt  and 
of  weakness;  but  if  they  are  the  best  and  the 
bravest,  they  rise  again  from  their  depression 
by  recurring  to  first  principles,  as  Antoninus 
does.  The  emperor  says  that  life  is  smoke,  a 
vapor,  and  St.  James  in  his  Kpistle  is  of  the 
same  mind;  that  the  world  is  full  of  envious, 
jealous,  malignant  people,  and  a  man  might 
be  well  content  to  get  out  of  it.  He  has 
doubts  perhaps  sometimes  even  about  that  to 
which  he  holds  most  firmly.  There  are  only 
a  few  passages  of  this  kind,  but  they  are  evi- 
dence of  the  struggles  which  even  the  noblest 
of  the  sons  of  men  had  to  maintain  against  the 
hard  realities  of  his  daily  life.  A  poor  remark 
it  is  which  I  have  seen  somewhere,  and  made 
m  a  disparaging  way,  that  the  emperor's  re* 


flections  show  that  he  had  need  of  consolation 
and  comfort  in  life,  and  even  to  prepare  him  to 
meet  his  death.  True  that  he  did  need  comfort 
and  support,  and  we  see  how  he  found  it.  He 
constantly  recurs  to  his  fundamental  principle 
that  the  universe  is  wisely  ordered,  that  every 
man  is  a  part  of  it  and  must  conform  to  that 
order  which  he  cannot  change,  that  whatever 
the  Deity  has  done  is  good,  that  all  mankind 
are  a  man's  brethren,  that  he  must  love  and 
cherish  them  and  try  to  make  them  better, 
even  those  who  would  do  him  harm.  This  is 
his  conclusion  (ii.  17):  "What  then  is  that 
which  is  able  to  conduct  a  man?  One  thing 
and  only  one,  Philosophy.  But  this  consists 
in  keeping  the  divinity  within  a  man  free  from 
violence  and  unharmed,  superior  to  pains  and 
pleasures,  doing  nothing  without  a  purpose 
nor  yet  falsely  and  with  hypocrisy,  not  feeling 
the  need  of  another  man's  doing  or  not  doing 
anything;  and  besides,  accepting  all  that  hap- 
pens and  all  that  is  allotted,  as  coining  from 
thence,  wherever  it  is,  from  whence  he  himself 
came;  and  finally  waiting  for  death  with  a 
cheerful  mind  as  being  nothing  else  than  a  dis- 
solution of  the  elements  of  which  every  living 
being  is  compounded.  But  if  there  is  no  harm 
to  the  elements  themselves  in  each  continually 
changing  into  another,  why  should  a  man 
have  any  apprehension  about  the  change  and 
dissolution  of  all  the  elements  [himself]?  for  it 
is  according  to  nature;  and  nothing  is  evil  that 
is  according  to  nature." 


Marcus  Burclius  Bntcmimu*.  57 


The  Physic  of  Antoninus  is  the  knowledge 

of  the  Nature  of  tlie  Universe,  of  it;<  govern- 
ment, and  of  the  relation  of  man's  nature  to 
both.  He  names  the  universe  (// rwv  o/.tw  owrfc, 

vi.    i),:|;  "  the    universal    substance,"    ar.d    h* 
adds  that   "reason"   (~/6ynr)  governs  the  uni- 
verse,     lie  also  (vi.   9)  uses  the  terms  "  uni 
versal  nature"  or  ''nature  of  the    universe.' 
He  ( vi.  25)  calls  the  universe  "  the  one  and  all, 
which    \ve   name   Cosmos   or  Order"    (M/rn/oc). 
If  he  ever  seems  to  use  these  general  terms  as 
significant  of  the  All,  of  all  that  man  can  in 
any  way  conceive  to  exist,  he  still  on  other  oc- 
casions plainly  distinguishes  between  Matter, 

*  As  to  the  word  nl-ma,  the  reader  may  see  the  Index. 
I  add  here  a  few  examples  of  the  use  of  the  word  ; 
Antoninus  has  (v.  24),  /}  ci'ii^umi  n'miu,  "the  universal 
substance."  lie  says  ixii.  30  and  iv.  40;,  "there  is 
one  common  substance"  (urn'm},  distributed  among 
countless  bodies.  In  Stobaeus  (torn.  i.  lit),  i,  tit.  14) 
there  is  this  definition,  <i'rci<ir  (V  utiettv  ri.ir  <>;•<,>;•  <i-iirr<.ji> 
rf/r  -/itj7rtr  r//,r.  In  viii.  ii,  Antoninus  speaks  of  rb 
orrr/rTxVf  MII  i'/iK<'n\  "  the  substantial  and  the  material ;  " 
and  (vii.  io\  he  says  that  "everything  material" 
(ert'/.oi')  disappears  in  the  substance  of  the  whole  try 
rwr  o/(.ir  orrr/./).  The  <>rai<t  is  the  generic  name  of  that 
existence  which  we  assume  as  the  highest  or  ultimate, 
because  we  conceive  no  existence  which  can  be  co- 
ordinated with  it  and  none  above  it.'  It  is  the  phil- 
osopher's "substance:"  it  is  the  ultimate  expression 
for  that  which  we  conceive  or  suppose  to  be  the  basis, 
the  being  of  a  thing.  "From  the  Divine,  which  is 
substance  in  itself,  or  the  only  and  sole  substance,  all 
and  everything  that  is  created  exists"  ^Swedenborg.. 
Angelic  Wisdom,  198). 


58  pbilosopbg. 


Material  things  (vty,  vfaic6v),  and  Cause,  Origin, 
Reason  (alria,  ainufce,  2,<5yoc).*  This  is  conform- 
able to  Zeno's  doctrine  that  there  are  two  orig- 
inal principles  (apxai)  of  all  things,  that  which 
acts  (TO  TTotovv')  and  that  which  is  acted  upon  (rd 
jrdoxov').  That  which  is  acted  on  is  the  form- 
less matter  (iv.?):  that  which  acts  is  the  reason 
(/.(r/oc),  God,  who  is  eternal  and  operates 

*  I  remark,  in  order  to  anticipate  any  misappre- 
hension, that  all  these  general  terms  involve  a  contra- 
diction. The  "one  and  all,"  and  the  like,  and  "the 
•whole,"  imply  limitation.  "  One"  is  limited;  "all"  is 
limited;  the  "whole"  is  limited.  We  cannot  help  it. 
We  cannot  find  words  to  express  that  which  we  cannot 
fully  conceive.  The  addition  of  "  absolute  "  or  any 
other  such  word  does  not  mend  the  matter.  Even  the 
word  God  is  used  by  most  people,  often  unconsciously, 
in  such  a  way  that  limitation  is  implied,  and  yet  at  the 
same  time  words  are  added  which  are  intended  to  deny 
limitation.  A  Christian  martyr,  when  he  was  asked 
what  God  was,  is  said  to  have  answered  that  God  has 
no  name  like  a  man;  and  Justin  says  the  same  (Apol. 
ii.  6 1,  "the  names  Father,  God,  Creator,  Lord,  and 
Master  are  not  names,  but  appellations  derived  from 
benefactions  and  acts."  (Compare  vSeueca,  De  Benef. 
iv.  h. )  We  can  conceive  the  existence  of  a  thing,  or 
rather  «-e  may  have  the  idea  of  an  existence,  without 
an  adequate  notion  of  it,  "adequate"  meaning  co- 
extensive and  coequal  with  the  thing.  We  have  a 
notion  of  limited  space  derived  from  the  dimensions 
of  what  we  call  a  material  thing,  though  of  space  ab- 
solute, if  I  may  use  the  term,  we  have  no  notion  at 
all;  and  of  infinite  space  the  notion  is  the  same — no 
notion  at  all;  and  vet  we  conceive  it  in  a  sense, 
though  i  know  not  how,  and  we  believe  that  space  is 
infinite,  and  we  cannot  conceive  it  to  be  finite. 


/fcarcus  Burelfus  Bntoninus.  59 


through  all  matter,  and  produces  all  things. 
So  Antoninus  (v.  32)  speaks  of  the  reason 
(?.<5 >•<>{•)  which  pervades  all  substance  (oiaia),  and 
through  all  time  by  fixed  periods  (revolutions) 
administers  the  universe  (rt,  ~av).  God  is  eter- 
nal, and  Matter  is  eternal.  It  is  God  who 
gives  form  to  matter,  but  he  is  not  said  to  have 
created  matter.  According  to  this  view,  which 
is  as  old  as  Anaxagoras,  God  and  matter  exist 
independently,  but  God  governs  matter.  This 
doctrine  is  simply  the  expression  of  the  fact  of 
the  existence  both  of  matter  and  of  God.  The 
Stoics  did  not  perplex  themselves  with  the  in- 
soluble question  of  the  origin  and  nature  of 
matter. *  Antoninus  also  assumes  a  beginning 

*  The  notions  of  matter  and  of  space  are  insepar- 
able. \Ve  derive  the  notion  of  space  from  matter  and 
form.  But  \ve  have  no  adequate  conception  either  of 
matter  or  space.  Matter  in  its  ultimate  resolution  is 
as  unintelligible  as  what  men  call  mind,  spirit,  or  by 
whatever  other  name  they  may  express  the  power 
which  makes  itself  known  by  acts.  Anaxagoras  laid 
down  the  distinction  between  intelligence  ii'oi'f)  and 
matter,  and  he  said  that  intelligence  impressed  motion 
on  matter,  and  so  separated  the  elements  of  matter 
and  gave  them  order;  but  he  probably  only  assumed 
a  beginning,  as  Simplicins  says,  as  a  foundation  of 
his  philosophical  teaching.  Kuipedocles  said,  "The 
universe  always  existed."  He  had  no  idea  of  what  is 
called  creation.  Ocellus  Lucanus  (i,  \  2)  maintained 
that  the  Universe  (ro  -fir)  was  imperishable  and  un- 
created. Consequently  it  is  eternal.  He  admitted 
the  existence  of  God;  but  his  theology  would  require 
some  discussion.  On  the  contrary,  the  Brachmans, 


60 


of  things,  as  we  now  know  them;  but  his  lan- 
guage is  sometimes  very  obscure.  I  have  en- 
deavored-to  explain  the  meaning  of  one  difficult 
passage  (vii.  75,  and  the  note). 

Matter  consists  of  elemental  parts  (o-oix^a) 
of  which  all  material  objects  are  made.  But 
nothing  is  permanent  in  form.  The  nature  of 
the  universe,  according  to  Antoninus'  expres- 
sion (iv.  36),  "  loves  nothing  so  much  as  to 
change  the  things  which  are,  and  to  make  new 
things  like  them.  For  everything  that  exists 
is  in  a  manner  the  seed  of  that  which  will  be. 
But  thou  art  thinking  only  of  seeds  which  are 
cast  into  the  earth  or  into  a  womb  :  but  this  is 
a  very  vulgar  notion."  All  things  then  are  in 
a  constant  flux  and  change;  some  things  are 
lissolved  into  the  elements,  others  come  in 
their  places  ;  and  so  the  "whole  universe  con- 
tinues ever  young  and  perfect"  (xii.  23). 

Antoninus  has  some  obscure  expressions 
about  what  he  calls  "seminal  principles"  (c-ep. 
[Ki7ixoi /.6}'oi).  He  opposes  them  to  the  Epicu- 
rean atoms  (vi.  24),  and  consequently  his 

according  to  Strabo  (p.  713,  ed.  Cas. ),  taught  that  the 
universe  was  created  and  perishable;  and  the  creator 
and  administrator  of  it  pervades  the  •whole.  The 
author  of  the  book  of  Solomon's  Wisdom  says  (xi. 
17)  :  "  Thy  Almighty  hand  made  the  world  of  matter 
without  form,"  which  may  mean  that  matter  existed 
already. 

The  common  Greek  word  which  we  translate 
"  matter  "  is  vty.  It  is  the  stuff  that  things  are  made 
of. 


flfcarcus  Hurclius  Bntoninus.  61 


"seminal  principles"  are  not  material  atoms 
which  wander  about  at  hazard,  and  combine 
nobody  knows  how.  In  one  passage  (iv.  21) 
he  speaks  of  living-  principles,  souls  (i/'^«0 
after  the  dissolution  of  their  bodies  being  re- 
ceived into  the  "seminal  principle  of  the  uni- 
verse." vSchultz  thinks  that  by  "seminal 
principles  Antoninus  means  the  relations  of  the 
various  elemental  principles,  which  relations 
are  determined  by  the  Deity  and  by  which 
alone  the  production  of  organized  beings  is 
possible."  This  may  be  the  meaning;  but  if 
it  is,  nothing  of  any  v.  'ue  can  be  derived  from 
it.*  Antoninus  often  uses  the  word  "Nature  " 
(piwf),  and  we  must  attempt  to  fix  its  meaning, 
The  simple  etymological  sense  of  o't-mq  is  ' '  pro- 
duction," the  birth  of  what  we  call  Things. 
The  Romans  used  Natura,  which  also  means 
"birth"  originally.  But  neither  the  Greeks 
nor  the  Romans  stuck  to  this  simple  meaning, 
nor  do  we.  Antoninus  says  (x.  6) :  "  Whether 
the  universe  is  [a  concourse  of]  atoms  or 
Nature  [is  a  system],  let  this  first  be  estab- 

*  Justin  (Apol.  ii.  8)  has  the  words  Kara  a-epiiar/Kob 
?.6-.-iw  //f/iof,  where  he  is  speaking  of  the  Stoics  ;  but  he 
uses  this  expression  in  a  peculiar  sense  (note  n). 
The  early  Christian  writers  were  familiar  with  the 
Stoic  terms,  and  their  writings  show  that  the  contest 
was  begun  between  the  Christian  expositors  and  the 
Greek  philosophy.  Even  in  the  second  Epistle  of  St. 
Peter  (ii.  i,  v.  4)  we  find  a  Stoic  expression,  Iva  tiia 


62 


lished,  that  I  am  a  part  of  the  whole  which  is 
governed  by  nature."  Here  it  might  seem  as 
if  nature  were  personified  and  viewed  as  an 
active,  efficient  power;  as  something-  which,  il 
not  independent  of  the  Deity,  acts  by  a  power 
which  is  given  to  it  by  the  Deity.  Such,  if  I 
understand  the  expression  right,  is  the  way  in 
which  the  word  Nature  is  often  used  now, 
though  it  is  plain  that  many  writers  use  the 
word  without  fixing  any  exact  meaning  to  it. 
It  is  the  same  with  the  expression  Laws  of 
Nature,  which  some  writers  may  use  in  an  in- 
telligible sense,  but  others  as  clearly  use  in  no 
definite  sense  at  all.  There  is  no  meaning  in  this 
word  Nature,  except  that  which  Bishop  Butler 
assigns  to  it,  when  he  says,  "The  only  distinct 
meaning  of  that  word  Natural  is  Stated,  Fixed, 
or  vSettled  ;  since  what  is  natural  as  much  re- 
quires and  presupposes  an  intelligent  agent  to 
render  it  so,  /'.  c.  to  effect  it  continually  or  at 
stated  times,  as  what  is  supernatural  or  mirac- 
ulous does  to  effect  it  at  once."  This  is 
Plato's  meaning  (De  L,eg.,  iv.  715)  when  he 
says  that  God  holds  the  beginning  and  end 
and  middle  of  all  that  exists,  and  proceeds 
straight  on  his  course,  making  his  circuit  ac- 
cording to  nature  (that  is  by  a  fixed  order)  ;  and 
he  is  continually  accompanied  by  justice,  who 
punishes  tho.se  who  deviate  from  the  divine 
law,  that  is,  from  the  order  or  course  which 
God  observes. 

When  we  look  at  the  motions  of  the  planets. 


/fcarcus  Burcliud  Sntonfnus.  63 

the  action  of  what  \ve  call  gravitation,  the  ele- 
mental combination  of  unorganized  bodies  and 
their  resolution,  the  production  of  plants  and 
of  living  bodies,  their  generation,  growth,  and 
their  dissolution,  which  we  call  their  death,  we 
observe  a  regular  sequence  of  phenomena, 
which  within  the  limits  of  experience  present 
and  past,  so  far  as  we  know  the  past,  is  fixed 
and  invariable.  But  if  this  is  not  so,  if  the 
order  and  sequence  of  phenomena,  as  known  to 
us,  are  subject  to  change  in  the  course  of  an 
infinite  progression, — and  such  change  is  con- 
ceivable,— we  have  not  discovered,  nor  shall  we 
ever  discover,  the  whole  of  the  order  and  se- 
quence of  phenomena,  in  which  sequence  there 
may  be  involved  according  to  its  very  nature, 
that  is,  according  to  its  fixed  order,  some  vari- 
ation of  what  we  now  call  the  Order  or  Xature 
of  Things.  It  is  also  conceivable  that  such 
changes  have  taken  place, — changes  in  the 
order  of  things,  as  we  are  compelled  by  the  im- 
perfection of  language  to  call  them,  but  which 
are  no  changes;  and  further  it  is  certain  that 
our  knowledge  of  the  true  sequence  of  all  actual 
phenomena,  as  for  instance  the  phenomena  of 
generation,  growth,  and  dissolution,  is  and 
ever  must  be  imperfect. 

We  do  not  fare  much  better  when  we  speak 
of  Causes  and  Effects  than  when  we  speak  of 
Nature.  For  the  practical  purposes  of  life  we 
may  use  the  terms  cause  and  effect  conveni- 
ently, and  we  may  fix  a  distinct  meaning  to 


64  IPbtlosopbs. 


them,  distinct  enough  at  least  to  prevent  all 
misunderstanding.  But  the  case  is  different 
when  we  speak  of  causes  and  effects  as  of 
Things.  All  that  we  know  is  phenomena,  as 
the  Greeks  called  them,  or  appearances  which 
follow  one  another  in  a  regular  order,  as  we 
conceive  it,  so  that  if  some  one  phenomenon 
should  fail  in  the  series,  we  conceive  that  there 
must  either  be  an  interruption  of  the  series,  or 
that  something  else  will  appear  after  the  phe- 
nomenon which  has  failed  to  appear,  and  will 
occupy  the  vacant  place;  and  so  the  series  in 
its  progression  may  be  modified  or  totally 
changed.  Cause  and  effect  then  mean  nothing 
in  the  sequence  of  natural  phenomena  beyond 
what  I  have  said;  and  the  real  cause,  or  the 
transcendent  cause,  as  some  would  call  it,  of 
each  successive  phenomenon  is  in  that  which 
is  the  cause  of  all  things  which  are,  which  have 
been,  and  which  will  be  forever.  Thus  the 
word  Creation  may  have  a  real  sense  if  we 
consider  it  as  the  first,  if  we  can  conceive  a 
first,  in  the  present  order  of  natural  phenom- 
ena; but  in  the  vulgar  sense  a  creation  of  all 
things  at  a  certain  time,  followed  by  a  quies- 
cence of  the  first  cause  and  an  abandonment 
of  all  sequences  of  Phenomena  to  the  laws  of 
Nature,  or  to  the  other  words  that  people  may 
use,  is  absolutely  absurd.* 

*Time  and  space  are  the  conditions  of  our  thought; 
but  time  infinite  and  space  infinite  cannot  be  objects 


HurclUu?  Sntonfnus.  65 


Now,  though  there  is  great  difficulty  in  un- 
derstanding all  the  passages  of  Antoninus,  in 
which  he  speaks  of  Nature,  of  the  changes  of 
tilings  and  of  the  economy  of  the  universe,  I 
am  convinced  that  his  sense  of  Nature  and 
Natural  is  the  same  as  that  which  I  have 
stated;  and  as  he  was  a  man  who  knew  how  to 
use  words  in  a  clear  way  and  with  strict  con- 
sistency, we  ought  to  assume,  even  if  his  mean- 
ing in  some  passages  is  doubtful,  that  his  view 
of  Nature  was  in  harmony  with  his  fixed  be- 
lief in  the  all-pervading,  ever  present,  and 
ever  active  energy  of  God.  (ii.  4;  iv.  40;  x.  i; 
vi.  40;  and  other  passages.  Compare  Seneca, 
De  Belief.,  iv.  7.  Swedenborg,  Angelic  Wis- 
dom, 349-357.) 

There  is  much  in  Antoninus  that  is  hard  to 
understand,  and  it  might  be  said  that  he  did 
nor  fully  comprehend  all  that  he  wrote;  which 
would  however  be  in  no  way  remarkable,  for 

of  thought,  except  in  a  very  imperfect  way.  Time 
and  space  must  not  in  any  way  be  thought  of  when 
we  think  of  the  Deity.  Swedenborg  says,  "The 
natural  man  may  believe  that  he  would  have  no 
thought,  if  the  ideas  of  time,  of  space,  and  of  things 
material  were  taken  away ;  for  upon  those  is  founded 
all  the  thought  that  man  has.  But  let  him  know  that 
the  thoughts  are  limited  and  confined  in  proportion 
as  they  partake  of  time,  of  space,  and  of  what  is  ma- 
terial ;  and  that  they  are  not  limited  and  are  extended, 
in  proportion  as  they  do  not  partake  of  those  things ; 
since  the  mind  is  so  far  elevated  above  the  things  cor- 
poreal and  worldly"  (Concerning  Heaven  and  Hell, 
169). 

5 


66  ipbtlosopbs. 


it  happens  now  that  a  man  may  write  what 
neither  he  nor  anybody  can  understand.  An- 
toninus tells  us  (xii.  10)  to  look  at  things  and 
see  what  they  are,  resolving  them  into  the 
material  (i/.?/),  the  casual  (alrtov),  and  the  rela- 
tion (umoo/)<;),  or  the  purpose,  by  which  he 
seems  to  mean  something  in  the  nature  of  what 
we  call  effect,  or  end.  The  word  Cause  (ni7/n) 
is  the  difficult}'.  There  is  the  same  word  in 
the  Sanscrit  (hctu  -;  and  the  subtle  philosophers 
of  India  and  of  Greece,  and  the  less  subtle 
philosophers  of  modern  times,  have  all  used 
this  word,  or  an  equivalent  word,  in  a  vague 
way.  Yet  the  confusion  sometimes  may  be  in 
the  inevitable  ambiguity  of  language  rather 
than  in  the  mind  of  the  writer,  for  I  cannot  think 
that  some  of  the  wisest  of  men  did  not  know 
what  they  intended  to  say.  When  Antoninus 
says  (iv.  36),  "  that  everything  that  exists  is  in 
a  manner  the  seed  of  that  which  will  be,"  he 
might  be  supposed  to  say  what  some  of  the  In- 
dian philosophers  have  said,  and  thus  a  pro- 
found truth  might  be  converted  into  a  gross 
absurdity.  But  he  says,  "in  a  manner,"  and 
in  a  manner  he  said  true ;  and  in  another  man- 
ner, if  you  mistake  his  meaning,  he  said  false. 
When  Plato  said,  "  Nothing  ever  is,  but  is  al- 
ways becoming"  (iiei  yr.-verm'),  he  delivered  a 
text,  out  of  which  we  may  derive  something  ; 
for  he  destroys  by  it  not  all  practical,  but  all 
speculative  notions  of  cause  and  effect.  The 
whole  series  of  things,  as  they  appear  to  us, 


dfcarcus  Burclius  Bntoninus.  67 

must  be  contemplated  in  time,  that  is  in  suc- 
cession, and  \ve  conceive  or  suppose  intervals 
between  one  state  of  tilings  and  another  state 
of  things,  so  that  there  is  priority  and  sequence, 
and  interval,  and  Being,  and  a  ceasing  to  Be, 
and  beginning  and  ending.  But  there  is  noth- 
ing of  the  kind  in  the  Nature  of  Things.  It  is 
an  everlasting  continuity  (iv.  45;  vii.  75). 
When  Antoninus  speaks  of  generation  (x.  26), 
lie  speaks  of  one  cause  (uirid)  acting,  and  then 
another  cause  taking  up  the  work,  which  the 
former  left  in  a  certain  state,  ami  so  on  ;  and 
•we  might  perhaps  conceive  that  lie  had  some 
notion  like  what  has  been  called  "  the  self- 
evolving  power  of  nature;"  a  fine  phrase  in- 
deed, the  full  import  of  which  I  believe  that 
the  writer  of  it  did  not  see,  and  thus  he  laid 
himself  open  to  the  imputation  of  being  a  fol- 
lower of  one  of  the  Hindu  sects,  which  makes 
all  things  come  by  evolution  out  of  nature  or 
matter,  or  out  of  something  which  takes  the 
place  of  Deity,  but  is  not  Deity.  I  would  have 
all  men  think  as  they  please,  or  as  they  can, 
and  I  only  claim  the  same  freedom  which  I 
give.  When  a  man  writes  anything,  we  may 
fairly  try  to  find  out  all  that  his  words  must 
mean,  even  if  the  result  is  that  they  mean  what 
he  did  not  mean  ;  and  if  we  find  this  contradic- 
tion, it  is  not  our  fault,  but  his  misfortune. 
Now  Antoninus  is  perhaps  somewhat  in  this 
condition  in  what  he  says  (x.  26"),  though  he 
speaks  at  the  end  of  the  paragraph  of  the 


68 


power  which  acts,  unseen  by  the  eyes,  but  still 
no  less  clearly.  But  whether  in  this  passage 
(x.  26)  he  means  that  the  power  is  conceived 
to  be  in  the  different  successive  causes  («/7/n/), 
or  in  something  else,  nobody  can  tell.  From 
other  passages,  however,  I  do  collect  that  his 
notion  of  the  phenomena  of  the  universe  is  what 
I  have  stated.  The  Deity  works  unseen,  if  we 
may  use  such  language,  and  perhaps  I  may,  as 
Job  did,  or  he  who  wrote  the  book  of  Job. 
"In  him  we  live  and  move  and  are,"  said  St. 
Paul  to  the  Athenians  ;  and  to  show  his  hearers 
that  this  was  no  new  doctrine,  he  quoted  the 
Greek  poets.  One  of  these  poets  was  the  Stoic 
Cleanthes,  whose  noble  hymn  to  Zeus,  or  God, 
is  an  elevated  expression  of  devotion  and  phi- 
losophy. It  deprives  Nature  of  her  power,  and 
puts  her  under  the  immediate  government  of 
the  Deity. 

"Thee  all  this  heaven,  which  whirls  around  the  earth, 
Oheys,  and  willing  follows  where  thou  leadest. 
Without  thee,  God,  nothing  is  done  on  earth, 
Nor  in  the  ethereal  realms,  nor  in  the  sea, 
Save  what  the  wicked  through  their  folly  do." 

Antoninus'  conviction  of  the  existence  of  a 
divine  power  and  government  was  founded  on 
his  perception  of  the  order  of  the  universe. 
Like  Socrates  (Xen.  Mem.,  iv.  3,  13,  etc.)  he 
says  that  though  we  cannot  see  the  forms  of 
divine  powers,  we  know  that  they  exist  because 
we  see  their  works. 


fl&arcus  Burclius  Hntoninus.  69 


"To  those  who  ask,  Where  hast  them  seen 
the  gods,  or  how  dost  them  comprehend  that 
they  exist  and  so  worshipest  them?  I  answer, 
in  the  first  place,  that  they  may  be  seen  even 
with  the  eyes;  in  the  second  place,  neither 
have  I  seen  my  own  soul,  and  yet  I  honor  it. 
Thus  then  with  respect  to  the  gods,  from  what 
I  constantly  experience  of  their  power,  from 
this  I  comprehend  that  they  exist,  and  I  ven- 
erate them."  (xii.  2S,  and  the  note.  Comp. 
Aristotle  de  Mnndo,  c.  6;  Xen.  Mem.  i.  4,  9; 
Cicero,  Tuscnl.  i.  28,  29;  vSt.  Paul's  Kpistle  to 
the  Romans,  i.  19,  20;  and  Montaigne's  Apol- 
ogy for  Raimond  de  Sebonde,  ii.  c.  12.)  This 
is  a  very  old  argument,  which  has  always  had 
great  weight  with  most  people,  and  has  ap- 
peared sufficient.  It  does  not  acquire  the  least 
additional  strength  by  being  developed  in  a 
learned  treatise.  It  is  as  intelligible  in  its 
simple  enunciation  as  it  can  be  made.  If  it  is 
rejected,  there  is  no  arguing  with  him  who  re- 
jects it:  and  if  it  is  worked  out  into  innumer- 
able particulars,  the  value  of  the  evidence 
runs  the  risk  of  being  buried  uiu'xr  a  mass  of 
words. 

Man  being  conscious  that  he  is  a  spiritual 
power,  or  that  he  has  such  a  power,  in  what- 
ever way  he  conceives  that  he  has  it — for  I 
wish  simply  to  state  a  fact — from  this  power 
which  he  has  in  himself,  he  is  led,  as  Antoni- 
nus says,  to  believe  that  there  is  a  greater 
power,  which,  as  the  old  Stoics  tell  us,  per- 


vades  the  whole  universe  as  the  intellect* 
(Vow-)  pervades  man.  (Compare  Epictetus'  Dis- 
courses, i.  14;  and  Voltaire  a  Made.  Necker, 
vol.  Ixvii.,  p.  278,  ed.  Lequien.) 

*  I  have  always  translated  the  word  vovc,  ' '  intelli- 
gence  "  or  "intellect."  It  appears  to  be  the  word 
used  by  the  oldest  Greek  philosophers  to  express  the 
notion  of  "intelligence  ''  as  opposed  to  the  notion  of 
"matter."  I  have  always  translated  the  word  /.oyoq 
by  "reason,"  and  /o;v/vof  by  the  word  "rational,"  or 
perhaps  sometimes  "  reasonable,"  as  I  have  translated 
voepor  by  the  word  "intellectual."  Every  man  who 
has  thought  and  has  read  any  philosophical  writings 
knows  the  difficulty  of  finding  words  to  express  cer- 
tain notions,  how  imperfectly  words  express  these 
notions,  and  how  carelessly  the  words  are  often  used. 
The  various  senses  of  the  word  >.d;of  are  enough  to 
perplex  any  man.  Our  translators  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment (St.  John,  c.  I.)  have  simply  translated  o  l.oyog 
by  "  the  word,"  as  the  Germans  translated  it  by  "  das 
Wort;"  but  in  their  theological  writings  they  some- 
times retain  the  original  term  Logos.  The  Germans 
have  a  term  Vernunft,  which  seems  to  come  nearest 
to  our  word  Reason,  or  the  necessary  and  absolute 
truths  which  we  cannot  conceive  as  being  other  than 
what  they  are.  Such  are  what  some  people  have 
called  the  laws  of  thought,  the  conceptions  of  space 
and  of  time,  and  axioms  or  first  principles,  which 
need  no  proof  and  cannot  be  proved  or  denied.  Ac- 
cordingly the  Germans  can  sav,  "  Gott  ist  die  huchste 
Vernunft,"  the  Supreme  Reason.  The  Germans  have 
also  a  word  Verstand,  which  seems  to  represent  our 
word  "understanding,"  "intelligence,"  "intellect," 
not  as  a  thing  absolute  which  exists  by  itself,  but  as  a 
thing  connected  with  an  individual  being,  as  a  man. 
Accordingly  it  is  the  capacity  of  receiving  impressions 


dfcarcus  Burcltus  Bntoninus. 


God  exists  then,  but  what  elf)  we  know  of 
his  nature?  Antoninus  says  that  the  soul  of 
man  is  an  efflux  from  the  divinity.  We  have 
bodies  like  animals,  but  we  have  reason,  in- 
telligence, as  the  gods.  Animals  have  life 
(i/'»',v')X  and  what  we  call  instincts  or  natural 
principles  of  action:  but  the  rational  animal 
man  alone  has  a  rational,  intelligent  soul 
(i/'i',i>/  /o;;/>-/;.  roi/iii).  Antoninus  insists  on  this 

(Vorstellungen,  (V/rrrm/V//),  and  forming  from  them 
distinct  ideas  (Regriffei,  and  perceiving  differences. 
I  do  not  think  that  these  remarks  will  help  the  reader 
to  the  understanding  of  Antoninus,  or  his  use  of  the 
words  von;  and  /o;. of.  The  emperor's  meaning  must 
he  got  from  his  own  words,  and  if  it  does  not  agree 
altogether  with  modern  notions,  it  is  not  our  business 
to  force  it  into  agreement,  but  simply  to  find  out  what 
his  meaning  is,  if  we  can. 

Justinus  (ad  Diognetum,  c.  vii.")  says  that  the  om- 
nipotent, all-creating,  and  invisible  God  has  fixed 
truth  and  the  holy,  incomprehensible  Logos  in  men's 
hearts  ;  and  this  Logos  is  the  architect  and  creator  of 
the  Universe.  In  the  first  Apology  (c.  xxxii.),  he 
says  that  the  seed  ^r7-//>//<7)  from  God  is  the  Logos, 
which  dwells  in  those  who  believe  in  God.  So  it  ap- 
pears that  according  to  Justinus  the  Logos  is  only  in 
such  believers.  In  the  second  Apology  (c.  viii. )  he 
speaks  of  the  seed  of  the  Logos  being  implanted  in 
all  mankind  ;  but  those  who  order  their  lives  accord- 
ing to  Logos,  such  as  the  Stoics,  have  only  a  portion 
of  the  Logos  (Kara  a-rpit<i7tK<>v  7.6yov  iif/xif),  and  have 
not  the  knowledge  and  contemplation  of  the  entire 
Logos,  which  is  Christ.  Swedenborg's  remarks  (Au- 
gelic  Wisdom,  240)  are  worth  comparing  with  Justi- 
nus. The  modern  philosopher  in  substance  agrees 
with  the  ancient ;  but  he  is  more  precise. 


72  fiMrilosopbg. 


continually:  God  is  in  man,*  and  so  we  must 
constantly  attend  to  the  divinity  within  us, 
for  it  is  only  in  this  way  that  we  can  have  any 
knowledge  of  the  nature  of  God.  The  human 
soul  is  in  a  sense  a  portion  of  the  divinity,  and 
the  soul  alone  has  any  communication  with 
the  Deity;  for  as  he  says  (xii.  2):  "  With  his 
intellectual  part  alone  God  touches  the  intelli- 
gence only  which  has  flowed  and  been  derived 
from  himself  into  these  bodies."  In  fact  he 
says  that  which  is  hidden  within  a  man  is  life, 
that  is,  the  man  himself.  All  the  rest  is 
vesture,  covering,  organs,  instrument,  which 
the  living  man,  the  realf  man,  uses  for  the 

*  Comp.  Ep.  to  the  Corinthians,  i.  3,  17,  and  James 
iv.  8,  "  Drawnigh  to  God  and  he  will  draw  nigh  to 
you." 

t'fhis  is  also  Swedenborg's  doctrine  of  the  soul. 
"  As  to  what  concerns  the  soul,  of  which  it  is  said  that 
it  shall  live  after  death,  it  is  nothing  else  but  the  man 
himself,  who  lives  in  the  body,  that  is,  the  interior 
man,  who  by  the  body  acts  in  the  world  and  from 
whom  '.he  body  itself  lives"  (quoted  by  Clissold,  p. 
456  of  "The  Practical  Nature  of  the  Theological 
Writings  of  Emanuel  Swedeuborg,  in  a  Letter  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Dublin  (\Yhately.i,"  second  edition, 
1859 ;  a  book  which  theologians  might  read  with 
profit!.  This  is  an  old  doctrine  of  the  soul,  which 
has  been  often  proclaimed,  but  never  better  expressed 
than  by  the  "  Auctor  de  Mundo,"  c.  6,  quoted  by 
Gataker  in  his  "Antoninus,"  p.  436.  "  The  soul  by 
which  we  live  and  have  cities  and  houses  is  invisible, 
but  it  is  seen  by  its  works  ;  for  the  whole  method  of 
life  has  been  devised  by  it  and  ordered,  and  by  it  is 


flbarcus  Burcltus  Bntoninus.  73 


purpose  of  his  present  existence.  The  air  is 
universally  diffused  for  him  who  is  able  to  re- 
spire; and"  so  for  him  who  is  willing  to  partake 
of  it  the  intelligent  power,  which  holds  within 
it  all  things,  is  diffused  as  wide  and  free  as  the 
air  (viii.  54).  It  is  by  living  a  divine  life  that 
man  approaches  to  a  knowledge  of  the  divin- 
ity.* It  is  by  following  the  divinity  within, 

held  together.  In  like  manner  \v<j  must  think  also 
about  the  Deity,  who  in  power  is  most  mighty,  ill 
beauty  most  comely,  in  life  immortal,  and  in  virtue 
supreme  :  wherefore  though  he  is  invisible  to  human 
nature,  he  is  seen  by  his  very  works.''  Other  pas- 
sages to  the  same  purpose  are  quoted  by  Gataker  (p. 
382).  Bishop  Butler  has  the  same  as  to  the  soul  : 
"  Upon  the  whole,  then,  our  organs  of  sense  and  our 
limbs  are  certainly  instruments,  which  the  living 
persons,  ourselves,  make  use  of  to  perceive  and  move 
with."  If  this  is  not  plain  enough,  he  also  says:  "It 
follows  that  our  organi/.ed  bodies  are  no  more  our- 
selves, or  part  of  ourselves,  than  any  other  matter 
around  us."  (Compare  Anton,  x.  38). 

*  The  reader  may  consult  Discourse  V.,  "  Of  the  ex- 
istence and  nature  of  God,"  in  John  Smith's  "  Select 
Discourses."  He  has  prefixed  as  a  text  to  this  Dis- 
course, the  striking  passage  of  Agapetus,  Paraenes. 
\  3:  "  He  who  knows  himself  will  know  God  ;  and  he 
who  knows  God  will  be  made  like  to  God  ;  and  he 
will  be  made  like  to  God.  who  has  become  worthy 
God;  and  he  becomes  worthy  of  God,  who  does  noth- 
ing unworthy  of  God,  but  thinks  the  things  that  are 
his,  and  speaks  what  he  thinks,  and  does  what  he 
speaks."  I  suppose  that  the  old  saying,  "  Know  thy- 
self," which  is  attributed  to  Socrates  and  others,  had 
a  larger  meaning  than  the  narrow  sense  which  is  ger> 


74 


Saiftuv  or  0e<5f,  as  Antouinus  calls  it,  that  man 
conies  nearest  to  the  Deity,  the  supreme  good; 
for  man  can  never  attain  to  perfect  agreement 
with  his  internal  guide  (-o  ^//or^r).  "Live 
with  the  gods.  And  he  does  live  with  the 
gods  who  constantly  shows  to  them  that  his 
own  soul  is  satisfied  with  that  which  is  assigned 
to  him,  and  that  it  does  all  the  daemon  (Ja/ww^) 
wishes,  which  Zeus  hath  given  to  every  man 
for  his  guardian  and  guide,  a  portion  of  him- 
self. And  this  daemon  is  every  man's  under- 
standing and  reason  "  (v.  27). 

There  is  in  man,  that  is  in  the  reason,  the 
intelligence,  a  superior  faculty  which  if  it  is 
exercised  rules  all  the  rest.  This  is  the  ruling 
faculty  (ro  ?/-,rii<>riK6v'),  which  Cicero  (De  Natura 
Deorum,  ii.  n)  renders  by  the  Latin  word 
Principatus,  "  to  which  nothing  can  or  ought 
to  be  superior."  Antoninus  often  uses  this 
term  and  others  which  are  equivalent.  He 
names  it  (vii.  64)  "the  governing  intelli- 
gence." The  governing  faculty  is  the  master 
of  the  soul  (v.  26).  A  man  must  reverence 
only  his  ruling  faculty  and  the  divinity  within 
him.  As  we  must  reverence  that  which  is 
supreme  in  the  universe,  so  wre  must  reverence 
that  which  is  supreme  in  ourselves;  and  this  is 
that  which  is  of  like  kind  with  that  which  is 
.supreme  in  the  universe  (v.  21).  So,  as 

erally  given  to  it.  (Agapetus,  ed.  Stephan.  Schem- 
ing, Franekcr,  1608.  This  volume  contains  also  the 
Paraeneses  of  Xilus. ) 


Marcus  Burclfus  Bntonfnus. 


75 


Plotinus  says,  the  soul  of  man  can  only  know 
the  divine  so  far  as  it  knows  itself.  In  one 
passage  (xi.  19)  Antoninus  speaks  of  a  man's 
condemnation  of  himself  when  the  diviner  part 
within  him  has  been  overpowered  and  yields 
to  the  less  honorable  and  to  the  perishable 
part,  the  body,  and  its  i;ross  pleasures.  In  a 
word,  the  views  of  Antoninus  on  this  matter, 
however  his  expressions  may  vary,  are  ex- 
actly what  Bishop  Butler  expresses  when  he 
speaks  of  "  the  natural  supremacy  of  reflection 
or  conscience,"  of  the  faculty  "  which  surveys, 
approves,  or  disapproves  the  several  affections 
of  our  mind  and  actions  of  our  lives." 

Much  matter  mig'lit  be  collected  from  Anto- 
ninus on  the  notion  of  the  Universe  bcin^  one 
animated  Beini^.  But  all  that  he  says  amounts 
to  no  more,  as  Schultx.  remarks,  than  this:  the 
soul  of  man  is  most  intimately  united  to  his 
body,  and  together  they  make  one  animal, 
which  we  call  man;  so  the  Deity  is  most  inti- 
mately united  to  the  world,  or  the  material 
universe,  and  together  they  form  one  whole. 
But  Antoninus  did  not  view  God  and  the  ma- 
terial universe  as  the  same,  any  more  than  he 
viewed  the  body  and  soul  of  man  as  one.  An- 
toninus has  no  speculations  on  the  absolute 
nature  of  the  Deity.  It  was  not  his  fashion  to 
waste  his  time  on  what  man  cannot  under- 
stand.* He  was  satisfied  that  God  exists,  that 

*  "  God,  who  is  infinilL-lv  bevoml  the  reach  of  our 


76 


he  governs  all  things,  that  man  can  only  have 
an  imperfect  knowledge  of  his  nature,  and  he 
must  attain  this  imperfect  knowledge  by  rever- 
encing the  divinity  which  is  within  him,  and 
keeping  it  pure. 

From  all  that  has  been  said,  it  follows  that 
the  universe  is  administered  by  the  Providence 
of  God  (-/)oro/«),  and  that  all  things  are  wisely 
ordered.  There  are  passages  in  which  Anto- 
ninus expresses  doubts,  or  states  different  pos- 
sible theories  of  the  constitution  and  govern- 
ment of  the  universe  ;  but  he  always  recurs  to 
his  fundamental  principle,  that  if  we  admit  the 
existence  of  a  deity,  we  must  also  admit  that 
he  orders  all  things  wisely  and  well  (iv.  27; 
vi.  i  ;  ix.  28;  xii.  5;  and  many  other  passages). 
Epictetus  says  (i.  6)  that  we  can  discern  the 
providence  which  rules  the  world,  if  we  possess 
two  things, — the  power  of  seeing  all  that  hap- 
pens with  respect  to  each  thing,  and  a  grateful 
disposition. 

But  if  all  things  are  wisely  ordered,  how  is 
the  world  so  full  of  what  we  call  evil,  physical 
and  moral?  If  in>tead  of  saying  that  there  is 
evil  in  the  world,  we  use  the  expression  which 
I  have  used,  "what  we  call  evil,"  we  have 
partly  anticipated  the  emperor's  answer.  \Ve 
see  and  feel  and  know  imperfectly  very  few 
things  in  the  few  years  that  we  live,  and  all  the 
knowledge  and  all  the  experience  of  all  the  hu- 

tiarrow  capacities"  (Locke,  Ivssay  concerning  the 
Human  Understanding,  ii.  chap.  17). 


/foarcus  Burclius  Hntoninus. 


77 


man  race  is  positive  ignorance  of  the  whole, 
which  is  infinite.  Now,  as  our  reason  teaches 
us  that  everything  is  in  some  way  related  to 
and  connected  with  every  other  tiling,  all 
notion  of  evil  as  being  in  the  universe  of  things 
is  a  contradiction  ;  lor  if  the  whole  conies  from 
and  is  governed  by  an  intelligent  being,  it  is 
impossible  to  conceive  anything  in  it  which 
tends  to  the  evil  or  destruction  of  the  whole 
(viii.  55;  x.  6).  Everything  is  in  constant 
mutation,  and  yet  the  whole  subsists;  we 
might  imagine  the  solar  system  resolved  into 
its  elemental  parts,  and  yet  the  whole  would 
still  subsist  "ever  young  and  perfect." 

All  things,  all  forms,  are  dissolved,  and  new 
forms  appear.  All  living  things  undergo  the 
change  which  we  call  death.  If  we  call  death 
an  evil,  then  all  change  is  an  evil.  Living  be- 
ings also  suffer  pain,  and  man  suffers  most  of 
all.  for  he  suffers  both  in  and  by  his  body  and 
by  his  intelligent  part.  Men  suffer  also  from 
one  another,  and  perhaps  the  largest  part  of 
human  suffering  comes  to  man  from  those 
whom  he  calls  his  brothers.  Antoninus  says 
(viii.  55),  ''  Generally,  wickedness  does  no 
harm  at  all  to  the  universe;  and  particularly, 
the  wickedness  [of  one  man]  does  no  harm  to 
another.  It  is  only  harmful  to  him  who  has 
it  in  his  power  to  be  released  from  it  as  soon  as 
he  shall  choose."  The  first  part  of  this  is  per- 
fectly consistent  with  the  doctrine  that  the 
whole  can  sustain  no  evil  or  harm.  The  sec- 


ond  part  must  be  explained  by  the  Stoic  prin- 
ciple that  there  is  no  evil  in  anything  which  is 
not  in  our  power.  What  wrong  we  suffer  from 
another  is  his  evil,  not  ours.  But  this  is  an 
admission  that  there  is  evil  in  a  sort,  for  he 
who  does  wrong  does  evil,  and  if  others  can 
endure  the  wrong,  still  there  is  evil  in  the 
wrong-doer.  Antoninus  (xi.  18)  gives  many 
excellent  precepts  with  respect  to  wrongs  and 
injuries,  and  his  precepts  are  practical.  He 
teaches  us  to  bear  what  we  cannot  avoid,  and 
his  lessons  may  be  just  as  useful  to  him  who 
denies  the  being  and  the  government  of  God 
as  to  him  who  believes  in  both.  There  is  no 
direct  answer  in  Antoninus  to  the  objections 
which  may  be  made  to  the  existence  and  provi- 
dence of  God  because  of  the  moral  disorder  and 
suffering  which  are  in  the  world,  except  this 
answer  which  he  makes  in  reply  to  the  suppo- 
sition that  even  the  best  men  may  be  extin- 
guished by  death.  He  says  if  it  is  so,  we  may 
be  sure  that  if  it  ought  to  have  been  otherwise, 
the  gods  would  have  ordered  it  otherwise  (xii. 
5).  His  conviction  of  the  wisdom  which  we 
may  observe  in  the  government  of  the  world  is 
too  strong  to  be  disturbed  by  any  apparent  ir- 
regularities in  the  order  of  things.  That  these 
disorders  exist  is  a  fact,  and  those  who  would 
conclude  from  them  against  the  being  and  gov- 
ernment of  God  conclude  too  hastily.  We  all 
admit  that  there  is  an  order  in  the  material 
world,  a  Nature,  in  the  sense  in  which  that  word 


dftarcus  Burclius  Hntoninus.  79 


has  been  explained,  a  constitution  (KaraaKerf/), 
what  we  call  a  system,  a  relation  of  parts  to 
one  another  and  a  fitness  of  the  whole  for  some- 
thing. So  in  the  constitution  of  plants  and  of 
animals  there  is  an  order,  a  fitness  for  some  end. 
Sometimes  the  order,  as  we  conceive  it,  is  in- 
terrupted, and  the  end,  as  we  conceive  it,  is  not 
attained.  The  seed,  the  plant,  or  the  animal 
sometimes  perishes  before  it  has  passed  through 
all  its  changes  and  done  all  its  uses.  It  is  ac- 
cording to  Nature,  that  is  a  fixed  order,  for 
some  to  perish  early  and  for  others  to  do  all 
their  uses  and  leave  successors  to  take  their 
place.  So  man  has  a  corporeal  and  intellectual 
and  moral  constitution  fit  for  certain  uses,  and 
on  the  whole  man  performs  these  uses,  dies, 
and  leaves  other  men  in  his  place.  So  society 
exists,  and  a  social  state  is  manifestly  the 
natural  state  of  man — the  state  for  which  his 
nature  fits  him,  and  society  amidst  innumer- 
able irregularities  and  disorders  still  subsists; 
and  perhaps  we  may  say  that  the  history  of  the 
past  and  our  present  knowledge  give  us  a  rea- 
sonable hope  that  its  disorders  will  diminish, 
and  that  order,  its  governing  principle,  may  be 
more  firmly  established.  As  order  then,  a  fixed 
order,  we  may  say,  subject  to  deviations  real 
or  apparent,  must  be  admitted  to  exist  in  the 
whole  nature  of  things,  that  which  we  call  dis- 
order or  evil,  as  it  seems  to  us,  does  not  in  any 
way  alter  the  fact  of  the  general  constitution  of 
things  having  a  nature  or  fixed  order.  No- 


8o 


body  will  conclude  from  the  existence  of  disor- 
der that  order  is  not  the  rule,  for  the  existence 
of  order  both  physical  and  moral  is  proved  by 
daily  experience  and  all  past  experience.  We 
cannot  conceive  how  the  order  of  the  universe 
is  maintained:  we  cannot  even  conceive  how 
our  own  life  from  day  to  day  is  continued,  nor 
how  we  perform  the  simplest  movements  of  the 
body,  nor  how  we  grow  and  think  and  act, 
though  we  know  many  of  the  conditions  which 
are  necessary  for  all  these  functions.  Know- 
ing nothing  then  of  the  unseen  power  which 
acts  in  ourselves  except  by  what  is  done,  we 
know  nothing  of  the  power  which  acts  through 
what  we  call  all  time  and  all  space;  but  seeing 
that  there  is  a  nature  or  fixed  order  in  all  things 
known  to  us,  it  is  conformable  to  the  nature  of 
our  minds  to  believe  that  this  universal  Nature 
has  a  cause  which  operates  continually,  and 
that  we  are  totally  unable  to  speculate  on  the 
reason  of  any  of  those  disorders  or  evils  which 
we  perceive.  This  I  believe  is  the  answer 
which  may  be  collected  from  all  that  Antoni- 
nus has  said.* 

The  origin  of  evil  is  an  old  question.    Achil- 

*  Clcanlhes  says  in  his  Hymn  : — 

"  For  all  things  good  and  bad  to  One  them  formest, 
So  that  One  everlasting  reason  governs  all." 

See  Bishop  Butler's  Sermons.  Sermon  XV.,  "  Upon 
the  Ignorance  of  Man." 


jflfcarcus  Burclius  Hntonimte.  81 

les  tells  Priam  (Iliad,  24,  527;  that  Zeus  has 
two  casks,  one  filled  with  good  things,  and  the 
other  with  bad,  and  that  he  gives  to  men  out 
of  each  according  to  his  pleasure;  and  so  we 
must  be  content,  for  we  cannot  alter  the  will  of 
Zeus.  One  of  the  Greek  commentators  asks 
how  must  we  reconcile  this  doctrine  with  what 
we  find  in  the  first  book  of  the  Odyssey,  where 
the  king  of  the  gods  says,  Men  say  that  evil 
comes  to  them  from  us,  but  they  bring  it  on 
themselves  through  their  own  folly.  The  an- 
swer is  plain  enough  even  to  the  Greek  com- 
mentator. The  poets  make  both  Achilles  and 
Zeus  speak  appropriately  to  their  several  char- 
acters. Indeed,  Zeus  says  plainly  that  men  do 
attribute  their  sufferings  to  their  gods,  but  they 
do  it  falsely,  for  they  are  the  cause  of  their  own 
sorrows. 

Hpictetus  in  his  Enchiridion  (c.  27)  makes 
short  work  of  the  question  of  evil.  He  says, 
"As  a  mark  is  not  set  up  for  the  purpose  of 
missing  it,  so  neither  does  the  nature  of  evil  ex- 
ist in  the  universe."  This  will  appear  obscure 
enough  to  those  who  are  not  acquainted  with 
Kpictetus,  but  he  always  knows  what  he  is 
talking  about.  \Ve  do  not  set  up  a  mark  in 
order  to  miss  it,  though  we  may  miss  it.  God, 
whose  existence  Epictetus  assumes,  has  not 
ordered  all  things  so  that  his  purpose  shall  fail. 
Whatever  there  may  be  of  what  we  call  evil, 
the  nature  of  evil,  as  he  expresses  it,  does  not 
exist;  that  is,  evil  is  not  a  part  of  the  constitu- 
6 


82  IPbflosopbs. 


tion  or  nature  of  things.  If  there  were  a  prin- 
ciple of  evil  (apx>/)  in  the  constitution  of  things, 
evil  would  no  longer  be  evil,  as  Simplicius 
argues,  but  evil  would  be  good.  Simplicius 
(c.  34,  [27])  has  a  long  and  curious  discourse 
on  this  text  of  Epictetus,  and  it  is  amusing 
and  instructive. 

One  passage  more  will  conclude  this  matter. 
It  contains  all  that  the  emperor  could  say  (ii. 
u):  "To  go  from  among  men,  if  there  are 
gods,  is  not  a  thing  to  be  afraid  of,  for  the  gods 
will  not  involve  thee  in  evil;  but  if  indeed  they 
do  not  exist,  or  if  they  have  no  concern  about 
human  affairs,  what  is  it  to  me  to  live  in  a  uni- 
verse devoid  of  gods  or  devoid  of  providence  ? 
But  in  truth  they  do  exist,  and  they  do  care  for 
human  things,  and  they  have  put  all  the  means 
in  man's  power  to  enable  him  not  to  fall  into 
real  evils.  And  as  to  the  rest,  if  there  was  any- 
thing evil,  they  would  have  provided  for  this 
also,  that  it  should  be  altogether  in  a  man's 
power  not  to  fall  into  it.  But  that  which  does 
not  make  a  man  worse,  how  can  it  make  a 
man's  life  worse?  But  neither  through  igno- 
rance, nor  having  the  knowledge  but  not  the 
power  to  guard  against  or  correct  these  things, 
is  it  possible  that  the  nature  of  the  universe 
has  overlooked  them;  nor  is  it  possible  that  it 
has  made  so  great  a  mistake,  either  through 
want  of  power  or  want  of  skill,  that  good  and 
evil  should  happen  indiscriminately  to  the  good 
and  the  bad.  But  death  certainlv  and  life, 


/Ifcarcus  Burcllus  Hntonlnus.  83 


honor  and  dishonor,  ])ain  and  pleasure,  all 
these  things  equally  happen  to  good  and  bad 
men,  being  things  which  make  us  neither  better 
nor  worse.  Therefore  they  are  neither  good 
nor  evil." 

The  Ethical  part  of  Antoninus'  Philosophy 
follows  from  his  general  principles.  The  end 
of  all  his  philosophy  is  to  live  conformably  to 
Nature,  both  a  man's  own  nature  and  the  nature 
of  the  universe.  Bishop  Butler  has  explained 
what  the  Greek  philosophers  meant  when  they 
spoke  of  living  according  to  Nature,  and  he  says 
that  when  it  is  explained,  as  he  has  explained  it 
and  as  they  understood  it,  it  is  "a  manner  of 
speaking  not  loose  and  undeterminate,  but 
clear  and  distinct,  strictly  just  and  true."  To 
live  according  to  Nature  is  to  live  according  to 
a  man's  whole  nature,  not  according  to  a  part 
of  it,  and  to  reverence  the  divinity  within  him 
as  the  governor  of  all  his  actions.  "To  the 
rational  animal  the  same  act  is  according  to 
nature  and  according  to  reason"*  (vii.  n). 
That  which  is  done  contrary  to  reason  is  also 
an  act  contrary  to  nature,  to  the  whole  nature, 
though  it  is  certainly  conformable  to  some 
part  of  man's  nature,  or  it  could  not  be  done. 
Man  is  made  for  action,  not  for  idleness  or 
pleasure.  As  plants  and  animals  do  the  uses 
of  their  nature,  so  man  must  do  his  (v.  i). 

*  This  is  what  Juvenal  means  when  he  says  (xiv- 
321),— 

"Nunquam  aliud  Natura  aliud  Sapieutia  (licit. " 


84 


Man  must  also  live  conformably  to  the  uni- 
versal nature,  conformably  to  the  nature  of  all 
things  of  which  he  is  one;  and  as  a  citizen  of  a 
political  community  he  must  direct  his  life  and 
actions  with  reference  to  those  among  whom, 
among  other  purposes,  he  lives.*  A  man  must 
not  retire  into  solitude  and  cut  himself  off  from 
his  fellow-men.  He  must  be  ever  active  to  do 
his  part  in  the  great  whole.  All  men  are  his 
kin,  not  only  in  blood,  but  still  more  by  par- 
ticipating in  the  same  intelligence  and  by  be- 
ing a  portion  of  the  same  divinity.  A  man 
cannot  really  be  injured  by  his  brethren,  for 
no  act  of  theirs  can  make  him  bad,  and  he 
must  not  be  angry  with  them  nor  hate  them: 
"For  we  are  made  for  co-operation,  like  feet, 
like  hands,  like  eyelids,  like  the  rows  of  the 
upper  and  lower  teeth.  To  act  against  one 
another  then  is  contrary  to  nature;  and  it  is 
acting  against  one  another  to  be  vexed  and  to 
turn  away"  (ii.  i). 

Further  he  says:  "Take  pleasure  in  one 
thing  and  rest  in  it  in  passing  from  one  social 
act  to  another  social  act,  thinking  of  God" 
(vi.  7).  Again:  "L,ove  mankind.  Follow 
God"  (vii.  31).  It  is  the  characteristic  of  the 
rational  soul  for  a  man  to  love  his  neighbor 
(xi.  i).  Antoninus  teaches  in  various  passages 
the  forgiveness  of  injuries,  and  we  know  that 
he  also  practised  what  he  taught.  Bishop 

*  See  viii.  52;  and  Persius  iii.  66 


Hurclius  Hntontnus.  85 

Butler  remarks  that  "this  divine  precept  to 
forgive  injuries  and  to  love  our  enemies,  though 
to  be  met  with  in  Oentile  moralists,  yet  is  in  a 
peculiar  sense  a  precept  of  Christianity,  as  our 
Saviour  has  insisted  more  upon  it  than  on  any 
other  single  virtue."  The  practice  of  this  pre- 
cept is  the  most  difficult  of  all  virtues.  Anto- 
ninus often  enforces  it  and  gives  us  aid  towards 
following  it.  \Vhen  we  are  injured,  we  feel 
anger  and  resentment,  and  the  teeling  is  nat- 
ural, just,  and  useful  for  the  conservation  of 
society.  It  is  useful  that  wrong-doers  should 
feel  the  natural  consequences  of  their  actions, 
among  which  is  the  disapprobation  of  society 
and  the  resentment  of  him  who  is  wronged. 
But  revenge,  in  the  proper  sense  of  that  word, 
must  not  be  practised.  "The  best  way  of 
avenging  thyself,"  says  the  emperor,  "is  not 
to  become  like  the  wrong-doer."  It  is  plain 
by  this  that  he  does  not  mean  that  we  should 
in  any  case  practise  revenge;  but  lie  says  to 
those  who  talk  of  revenging  wrongs,  Be  not  like 
him  who  has  done  the  wrong.  Socrates  in  the 
Crito  (c.  TO)  says  the  same  in  other  words,  and 
St.  Paul  (Ep.  to  the  Romans,  xii.  17).  "When 
a  man  has  done  thee  any  wrong,  immediately 
consider  with  what  opinion  about  good  or  evil 
he  has  done  wrong.  For  when  thou  hast  seen 
this,  thou  wilt  pity  him  and  wilt  neither  won- 
der nor  be  angry"  (vii.  26 \  Antoninus  would 
not  deny  that  wrong  naturally  produces  the 
feeling  of  auger  and  resentment,  for  this  is  iin- 


86  IPbilosopbg. 


plied  in  the  recommendation  to  reflect  on  the 
nature  of  the  man's  mind  who  has  done  the 
wrong,  and  then  you  will  have  pity  instead  of 
resentment;  and  so  it  comes  to  the  same  as  St. 
Paul's  advice  to  be  angry  and  sin  not;  which, 
as  Butler  well  explains  it,  is  not  a  recommen- 
dation to  be  angry,  which  nobody  needs,  fof 
anger  is  a  natural  passion,  but  it  is  a  warning 
against  allowing  anger  to  lead  us  into  sin.  In 
short  the  emperor's  doctrine  about  wrongful 
acts  is  this:  wrong-doers  do  not  know  what 
good  and  bad  are:  they  offend  out  of  ignorance, 
and  in  the  sense  of  the  Stoics  this  is  true. 
Though  this  kind  of  ignorance  will  never  be 
admitted  as  a  legal  excuse,  and  ought  not  to 
be  admitted  as  a  full  excuse  in  any  way  by 
society,  there  may  be  grievous  injuries,  such 
as  it  is  in  a  man's  power  to  forgive  without 
harm  to  society;  and  if  he  forgives  because  he 
sees  that  his  enemies  know  not  what  they  do, 
he  is  acting  in  the  spirit  of  the  sublime  prayer, 
"  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do." 

The  emperor's  moral  philosophy  was  not  a 
feeble,  narrow  system,  which  teaches  a  man  to 
look  directly  to  his  own  happiness,  though  a 
man's  happiness  or  tranquillity  is  indirectly 
promoted  by  living  as  he  ought  to  do.  A  man 
must  live  conformably  to  the  universal  nature, 
which  means,  as  the  emperor  explains  it  in 
many  passages,  that  a  man's  actions  must  be 
conformable  to  his  true  relations  to  all  other 


flfcarcus  Burelius  Sntonfnus.  87 


human  beings,  both  as  a  citizen  of  a  political 
community  and  as  a  member  of  the  whole 
human  family.  This  implies,  and  he  often  ex- 
presses it  in  the  most  forcible  language,  that  a 
man's  words  and  actions,  so  far  as  they  affect 
others,  must  be  measured  by  a  fixed  rule, 
which  is  their  consistency  with  the  conserva- 
tion and  the  interests  of  the  particular  society 
of  which  he  is  a  member,  and  of  the  whole 
human  race.  To  live  conformably  to  such  a 
rule,  a  man  must  use  his  rational  faculties  in 
order  to  discern  clearly  the  consequences  and 
full  effect  of  all  his  actions  and  of  the  actions 
of  others:  lie  must  not  live  a  life  of  contempla- 
tion and  reflection  only,  though  he  must  often 
retire  within  himself  to  calm  and  purify  his 
soul  by  thought,*  but  he  must  mingle  in  the 
work  of  man  and  be  a  fellow  laborer  for  the 
general  good. 

A  man  should  have  an  object  or  purpose  in 
life,  that  he  may  direct  all  his  energies  to  it; 
of  course  a  good  object  (ii.  7).  He  who  has  not 
one  object  or  purpose  of  life,  cannot  be  one  and 
the  same  all  through  his  life  (xi.  21).  Bacon 
has  a  remark  to  the  same  effect,  on  the  best 
means  of  "reducing  of  the  mind  unto  virtue 
and  good  estate ;  which  is,  the  electing  and 
propounding  unto  a  man's  self  good  and  virtu- 
ous ends  of  his  life,  such  as  may  be  in  a  reas- 
onable sort  within  his  compass  to  attain. ' '  He 

*Utueuio  iu  sesetentatdesceudere,  nerno. — Persius, 

iv,  21. 


88 


is  a  happy  man  who  has  been  wise  enough  to 
do  this  when  he  was  young  and  has  had  the  op- 
portunities; but  the  emperor  seeing  well  that  a 
man  cannot  always  be  so  wise  in  his  youth, 
encourages  himself  to  do  it  when  he  can,  and 
not  to  let  life  slip  away  before  he  has  begun. 
He  who  can  propose  to  himself  good  and  virtu- 
ous ends  of  life,  and  be  true  to  them,  cannot 
fail  to  live  conformably  to  his  own  interest  and 
the  universal  interest,  for  in  the  nature  of 
things  they  are  one.  If  a  thing  is  not  good  for 
the  hive,  it  is  not  good  for  the  bee  (vi.  54). 

One  passage  may  end  this  matter.  "  If  the 
gods  have  determined  about  me  and  about  the 
things  which  must  happen  to  me,  they 
have  determined  well,  for  it  is  not  easy  even  to 
imagine  a  deity  without  forethought;  and  as 
to  doing  me  harm,  why  should  they  have  any 
desire  towards  that  ?  For  wrhat  advantage 
would  result  to  them  from  this  or  to  the  whole, 
which  is  the  special  object  of  their  providence  ? 
But  if  they  have  not  determined  about  me  in- 
dividually, the}-  have  certainly  determined 
about  the  whole  at  least;  and  the  things  which 
happen  by  way  of  sequence  in  this  general  ar- 
rangement I  ought  to  accept  with  pleasure  and 
to  be  content  with  them.  But  if  they  deter- 
mine about  nothing — which  it  is  wicked  to  be- 
lieve, or  if  we  do  believe  it,  let  us  neither  sac- 
rifice nor  pray  nor  swear  by  them,  nor  do 
anything  else  which  we  do  as  if  the  gods  were 
present  and  lived  with  us;  but  if  however  the 


flfcarcus  Burclius  Antoninus.  89 


gods  determine  about  none  of  the  things  which 
concern  us,  I  am  able  to  determine  about  my- 
self, and  I  can  inquire  about  that  which  is 
useful:  and  that  is  useful  to  even"  man  which 
is  conformable  to  his  own  constitution  ( Kn-ar-M,-,'/) 
and  nature.  Hut  my  nature  is  rational  and 
social;  and  my  city  and  country,  so  far  as  I  am 
Antoninus,  is  Rome;  but  so  far  as  I  am  a  man, 
it  is  the  world.  The  things  then  which  are 
useful  to  these  cities  are  alone  useful  to  me" 
(vi.  44). 

It  would  be  tedious,  and  it  is  not  necessary, 
to  state  the  emperor's  opinions  on  all  the  ways 
in  which  a  man  may  profitably  use  his  under- 
standing towards  perfecting  himself  in  practical 
virtue.  The  passages  to  this  purpose  are  in  all 
parts  of  his  book,  but  as  they  are  in  no  order 
or  connection,  a  man  must  use  the  book  a  long 
time  before  he  will  find  out  all  that  is  in  it. 
A  few  words  ma}-  be  added  here.  If  we  ana- 
lyze all  other  things,  we  find  how  insufficient 
the}'  are  for  human  life,  and  how  truly  worth- 
less many  of  them  are.  Virtue  alone  is  indi- 
visible, one,  and  perfectly  satisfying.  The 
notion  of  Virtue  cannot  be  considered  vague  or 
unsettled,  because  a  man  may  find  it  difficult 
to  explain  the  notion  fully  to  himself,  or  to  ex- 
pound it  to  others  in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent 
cavilling.  Virtue  is  a  whole,  and  no  more 
consists  of  parts  than  man's  intelligence  does; 
and  yet  we  speak  of  various  intellectual  facul- 
ties as  a  convenient  way  of  expressing  the  var- 


90 


ious  powers  which  man's  intellect  shows  by 
his  works.  In  the  same  way  we  may  speak  of 
various  virtues  or  parts  of  virtue,  in  a  practical 
sense,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  what  partic- 
ular virtues  we  ought  to  practice  in  order  to 
lie  exercise  of  the  whole  of  virtue,  that  is,  as 
man's  nature  is  capable  of. 

The  prime  principle  in  man's  constitution  is 
social.  The  next  in  order  is  not  to  yield  to  the 
persuasions  of  the  body,  when  they  are  not 
conformable  to  the  rational  principle,  which 
must  govern.  The  third  is  freedom  from  error 
and  from  deception.  "  L,et  then  the  ruling 
principle  holding  fast  to  these  things  go  straight 
on,  and  it  has  what  is  its  own  "  (vii.  55).  The 
emperor  selects  justice  as  the  virtue  which  is 
the  basis  of  all  the  rest  (x.  n),  and  this  had 
been  said  long  before  his  time. 

It  is  true  that  all  people  have  some  notion  of 
what  is  meant  by  justice  as  a  disposition  of  the 
mind,  and  some  notion  about  acting  in  con- 
formity to  this  disposition  ;  but  experience 
shows  that  men's  notions  about  justice  are  as 
confused  as  their  actions  are  inconsistent  with 
the  true  notion  of  justice.  The  emperor's 
notion  of  justice  is  clear  enough,  but  not  prac- 
tical enough  for  all  mankind.  "  Let  there  be 
freedom  from  perturbations  with  respect  to  the 
things  which  come  from  the  external  cause  ; 
and  let  there  be  justice  in  the  things  done  by 
virtue  of  the  internal  cause,  that  is,  let  there  be 
movement  and  action  terminating  in  this,  in 


Marcus  Surclfus  Bntonfnus.  91 


social  acts,  for  this  is  according  to  thy  nature" 
(ix.  31).  In  another  place  (ix.  i)  he  says  that 
"  he  who  acts  unjustly  acts  impiously,"  which 
follows  of  course  from  all  that  he  says  in  various 
places.  He  insists  on  the  practice  of  truth  as  a 
virtue  and  as  a  means  to  virtue,  which  no  doubt 
it  is:  for  lying  even  in  indifferent  things  weak- 
ens the  understanding ;  and  lying  maliciously 
is  as  great  a  moral  offense  as  a  man  can  be 
guilty  of,  viewed  both  as  showing  an  habitual 
disposition,  and  viewed  with  respect  to  conse- 
quences. He  couples  the  notion  of  justice  with 
action.  A  man  must  not  pride  himself  on  hav- 
ing some  fine  notion  of  justice  in  his  head,  but 
he  must  exhibit  his  justice  in  act,  like  St. 
James'  notion  of  faith.  But  this  is  enough. 

The  Stoics,  and  Antoninus  among  them,  call 
some  things  beautiful  (/>«/.<;)  and  some  ugly 
(a'ia,\i><i'),  and  as  they  are  beautiful  so  they  are 
good,  and  as  they  are  ugly  so  they  are  evil,  or 
bad  (ii.  i ).  All  these  things,  good  and  evil, 
are  in  our  power,  absolutely,  some  of  the  stricter 
Stoics  would  say  ;  in  a  manner  only,  as  those 
who  would  not  depart  altogether  from  common 
sense  would  say  ;  practically  they  are  to  a  great 
degree  in  the  power  of  some  persons  and  in 
some  circumstances,  but  in  a  small  degree  only 
in  other  persons  and  in  other  circumstances. 
The  Stoics  maintain  man's  free  will  as  to  the 
things  which  are  in  his  power ;  for  as  to  the 
things  which  are  out  of  his  power,  free  will  ter- 
minating in  action  is  of  course  excluded  by  the 


92 


very  terms  of  the  expression.  I  hardly  know 
if  we  can  discover  exactly  Antoninus'  notion  of 
the  free  will  of  man,  nor  is  the  question  worth 
the  inquiry.  What  he  does  mean  and  does  say 
is  intelligible.  All  the  things  which  are  not  in 
our  power  (a^poaipe-ra)  are  indifferent :  they  are 
neither  good  nor  bad,  morally.  Such  are  life, 
health,  wealth,  power,  disease,  poverty,  and 
death.  L,ife  and  death  are  all  men's  portion. 
Health,  wealth,  power,  disease,  and  poverty 
happen  to  men,  indifferently  to  the  good  and  to 
the  bad  ;  to  those  who  live  according  to  nature 
and  to  those  who  do  not.*  "  L,ife,"  says  the 
emperor,  "is  a  warfare  and  a  stranger's  so- 
journ, and  after  fame  is  oblivion"  (ii.  17). 
After  speaking  of  those  men  who  have  dis- 
turbed the  world  and  then  died,  and  of  the 
death  of  philosophers  such  as  Heraclitus  and 
Democritus,  who  was  destroyed  by  lice,  and  of 
Socrates  whom  other  lice  (his  enemies)  de- 
stroyed, he  says:  "What  means  all  this? 
Thou  hast  embarked,  thou  hast  made  the  voy- 

*  "All  events  come  alike  to  all:  there  is  one  event 
to  the  righteous  and  to  the  wicked:  to  the  good  and 
to  the  clean  and  to  the  unclean,"  &c.  (Ecclesiastes, 
ix.  v.  2);  and  !v.  3),  "This  is  an  evil  among  all 
things  that  are  done  under  the  snu,  that  there  is  one 
event  unto  all."  In  what  sense  ''  evil  "  is  meant  here 
seems  rather  doubtful.  There  is  no  doubt  about  the 
emperor's  meaning.  Compare  Epietetus,  Enchiridion, 
c.  i.,  &c.;  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Brachmans  (Strabo 
p.  713,  ed.  Cas. )  :  uyaditv  6t:  t/  K<IKOI>  //;/<5iv  nvai  ru* 


flbarcus  Burclius  Bntonfnus.  93 


age,  thou  art  come  to  shore  ;  get  out.  If  in- 
deed to  another  life,  there  is  no  want  of  gods, 
not  even  there.  But  if  to  a  state  without  sen- 
sation, thou  wilt  cease  to  be  held  by  pains  and 
pleasures,  and  to  be  a  slave  to  the  vessel  which 
is  as  much  inferior  as  that  which  serves  it  is 
superior:  for  the  one  is  intelligence  and  Deity; 
the  other  is  earth  and  corruption"  (iii.  3). 
It  is  not  death  that  a  man  should  fear,  but  he 
should  fear  never  beginning  to  live  according 
to  nature  (xii.  i ).  Kvery  man  should  live  in 
such  a  way  as  to  discharge  his  duty,  and  to 
trouble  himself  about  nothing  else.  He  should 
live  such  a  life  that  he  shall  always  be  ready 
for  death,  and  shall  depart  content  when  the 
summons  comes.  For  what  is  death?  "A 
cessation  of  the  impressions  through  the  senses, 
and  of  the  pulling  of  the  strings  which  move 
the  appetites,  and  of  the  discursive  movements 
of  the  thoughts,  and  of  the  service  to  the 
flesh"  (vi.  28).  Death  is  such  as  generation 
is,  a  mystery  of  nature  (iv.  5).  In  another 
passage,  the  exact  meaning  of  which  is  per- 
haps doubtful  (ix.  3),  he  speaks  of  the  child 
which  leaves  the  womb,  and  so  he  says  the 
soul  at  death  leaves  its  envelope.  As  the 
child  is  born  or  comes  into  life  by  leaving  the 
womb,  so  the  soul  may  on  leaving  the 
body  pass  into  another  existence  which  is  per- 
fect. I  am  not  sure  if  this  is  the  emperor's 
meaning.  Butler  compares  it  with  a  passage 
iu  Strabo  (p.  713)  about  the  Brachmans'  notion 


94  IPbflosopbE. 


of  death  being  the  birth  into  real  life  and  a 
happy  life,  to  those  who  have  philosophized  ; 
and  he  thinks  Antoninus  may  allude  to  this 
opinion.* 

Antoninus'  opinion  of  a  future  life  is  no- 
where clearly  expressed.  His  doctrine  of  the 
nature  of  the  soul  of  necessity  implies  that  it 
does  not  perish  absolutely,  for  a  portion  of  the 
divinity  cannot  perish.  The  opinion  is  at  least 
as  old  as  the  time  of  Kpicharmus  and  Euripi- 
des; what  comes  from  earth  goes  back  to  earth, 
and  what  comes  from  heaven,  the  divinity,  re- 
turns to  him  who  gave  it.  But  I  find  nothing 
clear  in  Antoninus  as  to  the  notion  of  the  man 
existing  after  death  so  as  to  be  conscious  of  his 
sameness  with  that  soul  which  occupied  his 
vessel  of  clay.  He  seems  to  be  perplexed  on 
this  matter,  and  finally  to  have  rested  in  this, 
that  God  or  the  gods  will  do  whatever  is  best, 
and  consistent  with  the  university  of  things. 

Xor,  I  think,  does  he  speak  conclusively  on 
another  Stoic  doctrine,  which  some  Stoics  prac- 

*  Seneca  (Ep.  102)  lias  the  same,  whether  an  ex- 
pression of  his  own  opinion,  or  merely  a  line  saying 
of  others  employed  to  embellish  his  writings,  I  know 
not.  After  speaking  of  the  child  being  prepared  in 
the  womb  to  live  this  life,  he  adds,  "Sic  per  hoc 
spatium,  quod  ab  infantia  patet  in  seiieeUitem,  in 
aliuin  naturae  suinimur  partum.  Alia  origo  iios  ex- 
pectat,  alius  reruin  status."  See  Kcclesiastes,  xii.  7; 
and  Lucau,  i.  457: — 

"  Longae,  cauitis  si  coguita,  vitae 
Mors  media  est. " 


rtbarcus  BurcHus  Bntoninua.  95 

tised, — the  anticipating  the  regular  course  of 
nature  by  a  man's  own  act.  The  reader  will 
find  some  passages  in  which  this  is  touched  on, 
and  he  may  make  of  them  what  he  can.  But 
there  are  passages  in  which  the  emperor  en- 
courages himself  to  wait  for  the  end  patiently 
and  with  tranquillity;  and  certainly  it  is  con- 
sistent with  all  his  best  teaching  that  a  man 
should  hear  all  that  falls  to  his  lot  and  do  use- 
ful acts  as  he  lives.  He  should  not  therefore 
abridge  the  time  of  his  usefulness  by  his  own 
act.  Whether  he  contemplates  any  possible 
cases  in  which  a  man  should  die  by  his  own 
hand,  I  cannot  tell;  and  the  matter  is  not  worth 
a  curious  inquiry,  for  I  believe  it  would  not 
lead  to  any  certain  result  as  to  his  opinion  on 
this  point.  I  do  not  think  that  Antoninus, 
who  never  mentions  Seneca,  though  he  must 
have  known  all  about  him,  would  have  agreed 
with  Seneca  when  he  gives  as  a  reason  for  sui- 
cide, that  the  eternal  law,  whatever  he  means, 
has  made  nothing  better  for  us  than  this,  that 
it  has  given  us  only  one  way  of  entering  into 
life  and  many  ways  of  going  out  of  it.  The 
ways  of  going  out  indeed  are  many,  and  that  is 
a  good  reason  for  a  man  taking  care  of  him- 
self.* 

Happiness  was  not  the  direct  object  of  a 
Stoic's  life.  There  is  no  rule  of  life  contained 
in  the  precept  that  a  man  should  pursue  his 

*  See  Plinius  H.  N.  ii.,  c.  7;  Seneca,  De  Provid.  c. 
6.;  arid  Ep.  70:  "  Nihil  iiielius  aeterua  lex,"  £c. 


96  IPbtlosopbv?. 


own  happiness.  Many  men  think  that  they 
are  seeking  happiness  when  they  are  only  seek- 
ing the  gratification  of  some  particular  passion, 
the  strongest  that  they  have.  The  end  of  a 
man  is,  as  already  explained,  to  live  conform- 
ably to  nature,  and  he  will  thus  obtain  happi- 
ness, tranquillity  of  mind,  and  contentment 
(i-ii.  12;  viii.  i,  and  other  places).  As  a 
means  of  living  conformably  to  nature  he  must 
study  the  four  chief  virtues,  each  of  which  has 
its  proper  sphere:  wisdom,  or  the  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil;  justice,  or  the  giving  to  every 
man  his  due;  fortitude,  or  the  enduring  of  labor 
and  pain;  and  temperance,  which  is  moderation 
in  all  things.  By  thus  living  conformably  to 
nature  the  Stoic  obtained  all  that  he  wished  or 
expected.  His  reward  was  in  his  virtuous  life, 
and  he  was  satisfied  with  that.  Some  Greek 
poet  long  ago  wrote: — 

"  For  virtue  only  of  all  human  things 
Takes  her  reward  not  from  the  hands  of  others. 

Virtue  herself  rewards  the  toils  of  virtue." 

Some  of  the  Stoics  indeed  expressed  them- 
selves in  very  arrogant,  absurd  terms,  about 
the  wise  man's  self-sufficiency;  they  elevated 
him  to  the  rank  of  a  deity.*  But  these  were 

*  J.  Smith  in  his  vSelect  Discourses  on  "  the  Kxcel- 
lency  and  Nobleness  of  True  Religion  "  ( e.  vi. )  has  re- 
marked on  this  Stoical  arrogance.  lie  finds  it  in 
Seneca  and  others.  In  Seneca  certainly,  ami  perhaps 
something  of  it  in  Kpictetus;  but  it  is  not  in  Autoni- 
iius. 


Surclius  Hntcnfnus.  97 


only  talkers  and  lecturers,  such  as  those  in  all 
ages  who  utter  fine  words,  know  little  of  human 
affairs,  and  care  only  for  notoriety.  Kpictetus 
and  Antoninus  both  by  precept  and  example 
labored  to  improve  themselves  and  others;  and 
if  we  discover  imperfections  in  their  teaching, 
we  must  still  honor  these  great  men  who  at- 
tempted to  show  that  there  is  in  man's  nature 
and  in  the  constitution  of  things  sufficient 
reason  for  living  a  virtuous  life.  It  is  difficult 
enough  to  live  as  we  ought  to  live,  difficult 
even  for  any  man  to  live  in  such  a  way  as  to 
satisfy  himself,  if  he  exercises  only  in  a  moder- 
ate degree  the  power  of  reflecting  upon  and  re- 
viewing his  own  conduct;  and  if  all  men  cannot 
be  brought  to  the  same  opinions  in  morals  and 
religion,  it  is  at  least  worth  while  to  give  them 
good  reasons  for  as  much  as  they  can  be  per- 
suaded to  accept. 


THE  THOUGHTS 


OF 


MARCUS  AURELIUS  ANTONINUS. 


THE  THOUGHTS 
OF 

MARCUS  AURELIUS  ANTONINUS. 


I. 

FROM  my  grandfather  Verus*  [I  learnedj 
good  morals  and  the  government  of  my 
temper. 

2.  From  the  reputation  and  remembrance  of 
my  father,!  modesty  and  a  manly  character. 

*  Aunius  Yerus  was  his  grandfather's  name.  There 
is  no  verb  in  this  section  connected  with  the  word 
"from,"  nor  in  the  following  sections  of  this  book; 
and  it  is  not  quite  certain  what  verb  should  be  sup- 
plied. What  I  have  added  may  express  the  meaning 
here,  though  there  are  sections  which  it  will  not  fit. 
If  he  does  not  mean  to  say  that  he  learned  all  these 
good  things  from  the  several  persons  whom  he  men- 
tions, he  means  that  he  observed  certain  good  quali- 
ties in  them,  or  received  certain  benefits  from  them, 
and  it  is  implied  that  he  was  the  better  for  it,  or  at 
least  might  have  been  for  it  would  be  a  mistake  to 
understand  Marcus  as  saying  that  he  possessed  all  the 
virtues  which  he  observed  in  his  kinsmen  and  teachers, 

f  His  father's  name  was  Annius  Verus. 
(101) 


102  GbOttflbtS.  [Book  L 

3.  From  my  mother,*  piety  and  beneficence, 
and  abstinence,  not  only  from  evil  deeds,  but 
even   from   evil   thoughts ;   and   further,  sim- 
plicity in  my  way  of  living,  far  removed  from 
the  habits  of  the  rich. 

4.  From  my  great-grandfather, f  not  to  have 
frequented  public  schools,   and   to   have  had 
good  teachers  at  home,  and  to  know  that  on 
such  things  a  man  should  spend  liberally. 

5.  From  my  governor,  to  be  neither  of  the 
green  nor  of  the  blue  party  at  the  games  in  the 
Circus,  nor  a  partisan  either  of  the  Parmular- 
ius  or  the  Scutarius  at  the  gladiators'  fights  ; 
from  him  too  I  learned  endurance  of  labor,  and 
to   want   little,  and    to   work    with    my   own 
hands,  and  not  to  meddle  with  other  people's 
affairs,  and  not  to  be  ready  to  listen  to  slander. 

6.  From    Diognetus,|   not   to   busy  myself 

*  His  mother  was  Domitia  Calvilla,  named  also 
Lucilla. 

f  Perhaps  his  mother's  grandfather,  Catilius  Severus. 

J  In  the  works  of  Justinus  there  is  printed  a  letter 
to  one  Diognetus,  whom  the  writer  names  "most  ex- 
cellent." lie  was  a  Gentile,  but  he  wished  very  much 
to  know  what  the  religion  of  the  Christians  was,  what 
God  they  worshipped,  and  how  this  worship  made 
them  despise  the  world  and  death,  and  neither  believe 
in  the  gods  of  the  Greeks  nor  observe  the  superstition 
of  the  Jews  ;  and  what  was  this  love  to  one  another 
which  they  had,  and  why  this  new  kind  of  religion 
was  introduced  now  and  not  before.  My  friend  Mr. 
Jenkins,  rector  of  Lyminge  in  Kent,  has  suggested  to 
me  that  this  Uiognetus  may  have  been  the  tutor  of 
M.  Antoninus. 


Book  I.]       /fcarcus  Burellus  Bntoninus.          103 

about  trifling  things,  and  not  to  give  credit  to 
what  was  said  by  miracle-workers  and  jugglers 
about  incantations  and  the  driving  away  of 
daemons  and  such  things  ;  and  not  to  breed 
quails  [for  fighting],  nor  to  give  myself  up 
passionately  to  such  things;  and  to  endure 
freedom  of  speech;  and  to  have  become  inti- 
mate with  philosophy;  and  to  have  been  a 
hearer,  first  of  Bacchius,  then  of  Tandasis  and 
Marcianus;  and  to  have  written  dialogues  in 
my  youth;  and  to  have  desired  a  plank  bed 
and  skin,  and  whatever  else  of  the  kind  be- 
longs to  the  Grecian  discipline. 

7.  From  Rusticus*  I  received  the  impres- 
sion that  my  character  required  improvement 
and  discipline;  and  from  him  I  learned  not  to 
be  led  astray  to  sophistic  emulation,  nor  to 
writing  on  speculative  matters,  nor  to  deliver- 
ing little  hortatory  orations,  nor  to  showing 
myself  off  as  a  man  who  practises  much  dis- 
cipline, or  does  benevolent  acts  in  order  to 
make  a  display;  and  to  abstain  from  rhetoric, 
and  poetry,  and  fine  writing;  and  not  to  walk 
about  in  the  house  in  my  outdoor  dress,  nor  to 

*  Q.  Junius  Rusticns  was  a  Stoic  philosopher,  whom 
Antoninus  valued  highly,  and  often  took  his  advice 
(Capitol.  3f.  Antonin.  iii  . 

Antoninus  says,  ro'tr  'E-iKTTfreioic  i'~c>uvf]uaaiv.  which 
must  not  be  translated,  "  the  writings  of  Epictetus," 
for  Epictetus  wrote  nothing.  His  pupil  Arrian,  who 
has  preserved  for  us  all  that  we  know  of  Epictetus, 
says,  ~avra  e-tipdC'Tfi'  i-~ourfuara  tfiavrti  dia^tv/.d^ai  rfc 
tiiavoiaf  (JSp,  ad.  Cell.) 


IO4 


Gbouobts.  [Book  L 


do  other  things  of  the  kind;  and  to  write  my 
letters  with  simplicity,  like  the  letter  which 
Rusticus  wrote  from  Sinuessa  to  my  mother; 
and  with  respect  to  those  who  have  offended 
me  by  words,  or  done  me  wrong,  to  be  easily 
disposed  to  be  pacified  and  reconciled,  as  soon 
as  they  have  shown  a  readiness  to  be  recon- 
ciled; and  to  read  carefully,  and  not  to  be 
satisfied  with  a  superficial  understanding  of  a 
book;  nor  hastily  to  give  my  assent  to  those 
who  talk  overmuch;  and  I  am  indebted  to  him 
for  being  acquainted  with  the  discourses  of 
Epictetus,  which  he  communicated  to  me  out 
of  his  own  collection. 

8.  From  Apollonius*  I  learned  freedom  of 
will  and  undeviating  steadiness  of  purpose; 
and  to  look  to  nothing  else,  not  even  for  a 
moment,  except  to  reason;  and  to  be  always 
the  same,  in  sharp  pains,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  loss  of  a  child,  and  in  long  illness;  and  to 
see  clearly  in  a  living  example  that  the  same 
man  can  be  both  most  resolute  and  yielding, 
and  not  peevish  in  giving  his  instruction:  and 
to  have  had  before  my  eyes  a  man  who  clearly 
considered  his  experience  and  his  skill  in  ex- 
pounding philosophical  principles  as  the  small- 
est of  his  merits;  and  from  him  I  learned  how 
to  receive  from  friends  what  are  esteemed 
favors,  without  being  either  humbled  by  them 
or  letting  them  pass  unnoticed. 

*Apollonius  of  Chalcis  came  to  Rome  in  the  time 
of  Pius  to  be  Marcus'  preceptor.  He  was  a  rigid 
Stoic. 


BiokL]       flfcarcus  Burcltus  Hntontnus.          10- 


9.  From  Sextus,*  a  benevolent  disposition, 
and   the  example    of  a  family   governed   in    a 
fatherly  manner,  and   the  idea    of   living  con- 
formably to  nature;  and  gravity  without  affec- 
tation, and  to  look  carefully  after  the  interests 
of   friends,   and    to  tolerate    ignorant   persons, 
and  those  who  form   opinions  without   consid- 
eration :-f   he    had     the  power  of    readily    ac- 
commodating himself  to  all,  so  that  intercourse 
with  him  was  more  agreeable  than  any  flatter}-; 
and  at  the  same  time  he  was  most  highly  ven- 
erated by  those  who  associated  with  him:   and 
he  had  the  faculty  both  of  discovery  and  order- 
ing, in  an  intelligent  and  methodical  way,  the 
principles   necessary    for   life;    and    he    never 
showed  anger  or   any  other   passion,  but  was 
entirely  free  from  passion,  and  also  most  affec- 
tionate;    and    he    could    express    approbation 
without  noisy  display,  and  he  possessed  much 
knowledge  without  ostentation. 

10.  From    Alexander"!'    the  grammarian,   to 
refrain  from  fault-finding,  and  not  in  a  reproach- 
ful way  to  chide  those  who  uttered  any  barbar- 
ous or  solecistic  or  strange-sounding  expression; 
but  dexterously  to  introduce  the  very  expres- 
sion which  ought  to  have  been  used,  and  in  the 

*Sextus  of  Chaerouea,  a  grandson  of  Plutarch,  or 
nephew,  as  some  sav  ;  but  more  probably  a  grandson. 

f  Alexander  was  a  Grammaticns,  a  native  of  Phrygia. 
He  wrote  a  commentary  on  Homer ;  and  the  rhetori- 
cian Aristides  wrote  a  panegyric  on  Alexander  iu  a 
fnueral  oration. 


io6  Gbougbts.  [Book  L 

way  of  answer  or  giving  confirmation,  or  join- 
ing in  an  inquiry  about  the  thing  itself,  not 
about  the  word,  or  by  some  other  fit  sugges- 
tion. 

1 1 .  From  Fronto  *  I  learned  to  observe  what 
envy  and  duplicity  and  hypocrisy  are  in  a  ty- 
rant, and  that  generally  those  among  us  who 
are  called  Patricians  are  rather  deficient  in  pa- 
ternal affection. 

12.  From    Alexander  the  Platonic,    not  fre- 
quently nor  without  necessity  to  say  to  any  one, 
or  to  write  in  a  letter,  that  I  have  110  leisure; 
nor  continually  to  excuse  the  neglect  of  duties 
required  by  our  relation  to  those  with  whom 
we  live,  by  alleging  urgent  occupations. 

13.  From    Catulus,t   not    to    be   indifferent 
when  a  friend  finds  fault,  even  if  he  should  find 
fault  without  reason,  but  to  try  to  restore  him 
to  his   usual  disposition;    and  to  be  ready  to 
speak   well   of  teachers,    as   it   is   reported  of 
Domitius   and  Athenodotus ;  and  to  love    my 
children  truly. 

14.  From  my  brother  j~  Severus,  to  love  my 

*  M.  Cornelius  Fronto  was  a  rhetorician,  and  in 
great  favor  with  Marcus.  There  are  extant  various 
letters  between  Marcus  and  Fronto. 

t  Cinna  Catulus,  a  Stoic  philosopher. 

J  The  word  brother  may  not  be  genuine.  Antoni- 
nus had  no  brother.  It  has  been  supposed  that  he 
may  mean  some  cousin  Schult/,  in  his  translation 
omits  "brother,"  and  says  that  this  Severus  is  prob- 
ably Claudius  Severus,  a  peripatetic. 


Book  I.]       /toarcus  Hurclius  Bntontnue.  107 

kin,  and  to  love  truth,  and  to  love  justice;  and 
through  him  I  learned  to  know  Thrasea,  Hel- 
vidius,  Cato,  Dion,  Brutus;*  and  from  him  I 
received  the  idea  of  a  polity  in  which  there  is 
the  same  law  for  all.  a  polity  administered  with 
regard  to  equal  rights  and  equal  freedom  of 
speech,  and  the  idea  of  a  kingly  government 
which  respects  most  of  all  the  freedom  of  the 
governed;  I  learned  from  him  also  -(-  consist- 
ency and  undeviating  steadiness  in  my  regard 
for  philosophy;  and  a  disposition  to  do  good, 
and  to  give  to  others  readily,  and  to  cherish 
good  hopes,  and  to  believe  that  I  am  loved  by 
my  friends;  and  in  him  I  observed  no  conceal- 
ment of  his  opinions  with  respect  to  those 
whom  he  condemned,  and  that  his  friends  had 
no  need  to  conjecture  what  he  wished  or  did 
not  wish,  but  it  was  quite  plain. 

15.  From  Maximust  I  learned  self-govern- 
ment, and  not  to  be  led  aside  by  anything;  and 
cheerfulness  in  all  circumstances,  as  well  as  in 
illness;  and  a  just  admixture  in  the  moral 
character  of  sweetness  and  dignity,  and  to  do 

'::  \Ve  know,  from  Tacitus  (Anna!,  xiii.,  xvi.  21; 
and  other  passages'),  who  Thrasea  and  Helvidius 
were.  Plutarch  lias  written  the  lives  of  the  two  Catos, 
and  of  Dion  and  Brutus.  Antoninus  probably  alludes 
to  Cato  of  Utica,  who  was  a  Stoic. 

t  Claudius  Maximus  was  a  Stoic  philosopher,  who 
was  highly  esteemed  also  by  Antoninus  Pius,  Marcus' 
predecessor.  The  character  of  Maximus  is  that  of  a 
perfect  man.  i  See  viii.  25,) 


io8  CbOUQbtS.  .  [BookL 

what  was  set  before  me  without  complaining. 
I  observed  that  everybody  believed  that  he 
thought  as  he  spoke,  and  that  in  all  that  he 
did  he  never  had  any  bad  intention;  and  he 
never  showed  amazement  and  surprise,  and  was 
never  in  a  hurry,  and  never  put  off  doing  a 
thing,  nor  was  perplexed  nor  dejected,  nor  did 
he  ever  laugh  to  disguise  his  vexation,  nor,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  he  ever  passionate  or  sus- 
picious. He  was  accustomed  to  do  acts  of 
beneficence,  and  was  ready  to  forgive,  and  was 
free  from  all  falsehood;  and  he  presented  the 
appearance  of  a  man  who  could  not  be  diverted 
from  right,  rather  than  of  a  man  who  had  been 
improved.  I  observed,  too,  that  no  man  could 
ever  think  that  he  was  despised  by  Maximus, 
or  ever  venture  to  think  himself  a  better  man. 
He  had  also  the  art  of  being  humorous  in  an 
agreeable  way.  4- 

16.  In  my  father*  I  observed  mildness  of 
temper,  and  unchangeable  resolution  in  the 
things  which  he  had  determined  after  due  de- 
liberation; and  no  vain-glory  in  those  things 
which  men  call  honors;  and  a  love  of  labor  and 
perseverance;  and  a  readiness  to  listen  to  those 
who  had  anything  to  propose  for  the  common 
weal;  and  undeviating  firmness  in  giving  to 
every  man  according  to  his  deserts;  and  a 
knowledge  derived  from  experience  of  the  oc- 

-"  Ik-  means  his  adoptive  father,  his  predecessor,  the 
Emperor  Antoninus  I'ius.  Compare  vi.  30. 


Book  I.]       /Ibarcus  Burclius  Bntoninus.          109 

casions  for  vigorous  action  and  for  remission. 
And  I  observed  that  lie  had  overcome  all  pas- 
sion for  boys;  and  he  considered  himself  no 
more  than  any  other  citi/en;:-;  and  he  released 
his  friends  from  all  obligation  to  sup  with  him 
or  to  attend  him  of  nece.^sity  when  he  went 
abroad,  and  those  who  had  failed  to  accompany 
him,  by  reason  of  any  urgent  circumstances, 
always  found  him  the  same.  I  observed  too 
his  habit  of  careful  inquiry  in  all  matters  of  de- 
liberation, and  his  persistency,  and  that  he 
never  stopped  his  i;ive<igritrn  tlir  >ugh  being 
satisfied  with  appearances  which  iirst  present 
themselves;  and  that  his  disposition  was  to 
keep  his  friends,  and  not  to  be  soon  tired  of 
them,  nor  yet  to  be  extravagant  in  his  affection; 
and  to  be  satisfied  on  all  occasions,  and  cheer- 
ful; and  to  foresee  things  a  long  way  off,  and  to 
provide  for  the  smallest  wi'.hout  dispiav;  and  to 
check  immediately  popular  applause  and  all 
flattery;  and  to  be  ever  watchful  over  the 
things  which  were  necessary  for  the  administra- 
tion of  the  empire,  and  to  be  a  good  manager 
of  the  expenditure,  and  patiently  to  endure  the 
blame  which  he  got  for  such  conduct;  and  he 
was  neither  superstitious  with  respect  to  the 
gods,  nor  did  he  court  men  by  gifts  or  by  trying 
to  please  them,  or  by  flattering  the  populace; 
but  he  showed  sobriety  in  all  things,  and  firm- 
ness, and  never  any  mean  thoughts  or  action, 

*  He  uses  the  word   wivoi-orfuonh-r/.     See  Gataker's 
note. 


no  tTbousbts.  [Book  I. 

nor  love  of  novelty.  And  the  things  which 
conduce  in  any  way  to  the  commodity  of  life, 
and  of  which  fortune  gives  an  abundant  supply, 
he  used  without  arrogance  and  without  excusing 
himself;  so  that  when  he  had  them,  he  enjoyed 
them  without  affectation,  and  when  he  had 
them  not,  he  did  not  want  them.  No  one 
could  ever  say  of  him  that  he  was  either  a 
sophist  or  a  [home-bred]  flippant  slave  or  a 
pedant;  but  every  one  acknowledged  him  to  be 
a  man  ripe,  perfect,  above  flattery,  able  to  man- 
age his  own  and  other  men's  affairs.  Besides 
this,  he  honored  those  who  were  true  philoso- 
phers, and  he  did  not  reproach  those  who  pre- 
tended to  be  philosophers,  nor  yet  was  he  easily 
led  by  them.  lie  was  also  easy  in  conversation, 
and  he  made  himself  agreeable  without  any 
offensive  affectation.  He  took  a  reasonable 
care  of  his  body's  health,  not  as  one  who  was 
greatly  attached  to  life,  nor  out  of  regard  to 
personal  appearance,  nor  yet  in  a  careless  way, 
but  so  that  through  his  own  attention  he  very 
seldom  stood  in  need  of  the  physician's  art  or 
of  medicine  or  external  applications.  He  was 
most  ready  to  give  without  envy  to  those  who 
possessed  any  particular  faculty,  such  as  that 
of  eloquence  or  knowledge  of  the  law  or  of 
morals,  or  of  anything  else;  and  he  gave  them 
his  help,  that  each  might  enjoy  reputation  ac- 
cording to  his  deserts;  and  he  always  acted  con- 
formably to  the  institutions  of  his  country, 
without  showing  any  affectation  of  doing  so. 


Book  I.]       flbarcus  Burelius  Bntoninus. 


Further,  he  was  not  fond  of  change  nor  un- 
steady, but  he  loved  to  stay  in  the  same  places, 
and  to  employ  himself  about  the  same  things; 
and  after  his  paroxysms  of  headache  he  came 
immediately  fresh  and  vigorous  to  his  usual 
occupations.  His  secrets  were  not  many,  but 
very  few  and  very  rare,  and  these  only  about 
public  matters-  and  he  showed  prudence  and 
economy  in  the  exhibition  of  the  public 
spectacles  and  the  construction  of  public  build- 
ings, his  donations  to  the  people,  and  in  such 
things,  for  he  was  a  man  who  looked  to  what 
ought  to  be  done,  not  to  the  reputation  which 
is  got  by  a  man's  acts.  He  did  not  take  the 
bath  at  unseasonable  hours;  he  was  not  fond  of 
building  houses,  nor  curious  about  what  he 
ate,  nor  about  the  texture  and  color  of  his 
clothes,  nor  about  the  beauty  of  his  slaves.* 
His  dress  came  from  Lorium,  his  villa  on  the 
coast,  and  from  Lanuvium  generally."*"  \Ve 
know  how  he  behaved  to  the  toll-collector  at 
Tusculum  who  asked  his  pardon;  and  such  was 
all  his  behavior.  There  was  in  him  nothing 
harsh,  nor  implacable,  nor  violent,  nor,  as  one 
may  say,  anything  carried  to  the  sweating 
point;  but  he  examined  all  things  severally,  as 
if  he  had  abundance  of  tinie,  and  without  con- 

*This  passage  is  corrupt,  and  the  exact  meaning  is 
uncertain. 

t  Lorium  was  a  villa  on  the  coast  north  of  Rome, 
and  there  Antoninus  was  brought  up,  and  he  died 
there.  This  also  is  corrupt. 


H2  GbOUQbtS.  [Book  I 

fusion,  in  an  orderly  way,  vigorously  and  con- 
sistently. And  that  might  be  applied  to  him 
which  is  recorded  of  Socrates,*  that  he  was  able 
both  to  abstain  from,  and  to  enjoy,  those 
things  which  many  are  too  weak  to  abstain 
from,  and  cannot  enjoy  without  excess.  But 
to  be  strong  enough  both  to  bear  the  one  and 
to  be  sober  in  the  other  is  the  mark  of  a  man 
who  has  a  perfect  and  invincible  soul,  such  as 
he  showed  in  the  illness  of  Maximus. 

17.  To  the  gods  I  am  indebted  for  having 
good  grandfathers,  good  parents,  a  good  sister, 
good  teachers,  good  associates,  good  kinsmen 
and  friends,  nearly  everything  good.  Further, 
I  owe  it  to  the  gods  that  I  was  not  hurried  into 
any  offence  against  any  of  them,  though  I  had 
a  disposition  which,  if  opportunity  had  offered, 
might  have  led  me  to  do  something  of  this 
kind  ;  but,  through  their  favor,  there  never 
was  such  a  concurrence  of  circumstances  as  put 
me  to  the  trial.  Further,  I  am  thankful  to  the 
gods  that  I  was  not  longer  brought  up  with  my 
grandfather's  concubine,  and  that  I  preserved 
the  flower  of  my  youth,  and  that  I  did  not 
make  proof  of  my  virility  before  the  proper 
season,  but  even  deferred  the  time  ;  that  I  was 
subjected  to  a  ruler"  and  father  who  was  able  to 
take  away  all  pride  from  me,  and  to  bring  me 
to  the  knowledge  that  it  is  possible  for  a  man 
to  live  in  a  palace  without  wanting  either 

* Xciiophon,  Mcmorab.  i.  5,  15. 


Book  I]       /DVnrcus  Hurcliiis  Bntcninus.          113 

guards  or  embroidered  dresses,  or  torches  and 
statues,  and  such-like  show  ;  but  that  it  is  in 
such  a  man's  power  to  bring  himself  very  near 
to  the  fashion  of  a  private  person,  without  be- 
ing for  this  reason  either  meaner  in  thought, 
or  more  remiss  in  action,  with  respect  to  the 
things  which  must  be  done  for  the  public  in- 
terest in  a  manner  that  befits  a  ruler.  I  thank 
the  gods  for  giving  me  such  a  brother, v-  who 
was  able  by  his  moral  character  to  rouse  me  to 
vigilance  over  myself,  and  who  at  the  same 
time  pleased  me  by  his  respect  and  affection  ; 
that  my  children  have  not  been  stupid  nor  de- 
lormed  in  body  ;  that  I  did  not  make  more  pro- 
ficiency in  rhetoric,  poetry,  and  the  other 
studies,  in  which  I  should  perhaps  have  been 
completely  engaged,  if  I  had  seen  that  I  was 
making  progress  in  them  ;  that  I  made  haste 
to  place  those  who  brought  me  up  in  the 
station  of  honor,  which  they  seemed  to  desire, 
without  putting  them  off  with  hope  of  my  do- 
ing it  some  other  time  after,  because  they 
were  then  still  young;  that  I  knew  Apollonius, 
Rusticus,  Maximus ;  that  I  received  clear  and 
frequent  impressions  about  living  according  to 
nature,  and  what  kind  of  a  life  that  is,  so  that, 
so  far  as  depended  on  the  gods,  and  their  gifts, 
and  help,  and  inspirations,  nothing  hindered 
me  from  forthwith  living  according  to  nature, 

*  The  emperor  had  no  brother  except  L.  Verus,  his 
brother  by  adoption. 

8 


ji4  tTbougbts.  [Booki. 

though  I  still  fall  short  of  it  through  my  own 
fault,  and  through  not  observing  the  admoni- 
tions of  the  gods,  and,  I  may  almost  say,  theii 
direct  instructions  ;  that  my  body  has  held  out 
so  long  in  such  a  kind  of  life ;  that  I  never 
touched  either  Benedicta  or  Theodotus,  and 
that,  after  having  fallen  into  amatory  passions, 
I  was  cured,  and,  though  I  was  often  out  of 
humor  with  Rusticus,  I  never  did  anything  of 
which  I  had  occasion  to  repent ;  that,  though 
it  was  my  mother's  fate  to  die  young,  she 
spent  the  last  years  of  her  life  with  me  ;  that, 
whenever  I  wished  to  help  any  man  in  his 
need,  or  on  any  other  occasion,  I  was  never 
told  that  I  had  not  the  means  of  doing  it ;  and 
that  to  myself  the  same  necessity  never  hap- 
pened, to  receive  anything  from  another  ;  that 
I  have  such  a  wife,*  so  obedient,  and  so  affec- 
tionate, and  so  simple  ;  that  I  had  abundance 
of  good  masters  for  my  children  ;  and  that 
remedies  have  been  shown  to  me  by  dreams, 
both  others,  and  against  bloodspitting  and 
giddiness  j  •  •  •  ;  and  that,  when  I  had  an  in- 
clination to  philosophy,  I  did  not  fall  into  the 
hands  of  any  sophist,  and  that  I  did  not  waste 
my  time  on  writers  [of  histories],  or  in  the 
resolution  of  syllogisms,  or  occupy  myself 
about  the  investigation  of  appearances  in  the 
heavens  ;  for  all  these  things  require  the  help 
of  the  gods  and  fortune. 

*  vSee  the  Life  of  Antoninus. 
t  This  is  corrupt. 


Book  I.]       jflfcarcus  Hurclfus  Bntontnus.  115 

Among  the  Quadi  at  the  Granua.* 

*The  Quadi  lived  in  the  southern  part  of  Bohemia 
and  Moravia  ;  and  Antoninus  made  a  campaign  against 
them.  (vSee  the  Life.}  Gnmua  is  probably  the  river 
Graan,  which  flows  into  the  Danube. 

If  these  words  are  genuine,  Antoninus  may  have 
written  this  first  book  during  the  war  with  the  Quadi. 
In  the  first  edition  of  Antoninus,  and  in  the  older 
editions,  the  first  three  sections  of  *!•*>  «econd  book 
make  the  conclusion  of  the  firs*  book,  Gataker 
placed  them  at  the  beginning  of  the  ***  tnsd  book. 


n6  Ubougbts. 


II. 

BEGIN  the  morning  by  saying  to  thyself,  I 
shall  meet  with  the  busybody,  the  un- 
grateful, arrogant,  deceitful,  envious,  unsocial. 
All  these  things  happen  to  them  by  reason  of 
their  ignorance  of  what  is  good  and  evil.  But 
I  who  have  seen  the  nature  of  the  good  that  it 
is  beautiful,  and  of  the  bad  that  it  is  ugly,  and 
the  nature  of  him  who  does  wrong,  that  it  is 
akin  to  me;  not  [only]  of  the  same  blood  or 
seed,  but  that  it  participates  in  [the  same]  in- 
telligence and  [the  same]  portion  of  the  divin- 
ity, I  can  neither  be  injured  by  any  of  them, 
for  no  one  can  fix  on  me  what  is  ugly,  nor  can 
I  be  angry  with  my  kinsman,  nor  hate  him. 
For  we  are  made  for  co-operation,  like  feet,  like 
hands,  like  eyelids,  like  the  rows  of  the  upper 
and  lower  teeth.*  To  act  against  one  another, 
then,  is  contrary  to  nature;  and  it  is  acting 
against  one  another  to  be  vexed  and  to  turn 
away. 

2.  Whatever  this  is  that  I  am,  it  is  a  little 
flesh  and  breath,  and  the  ruling  part.  Throw 
away  thy  books;  no  longer  distract  thyself:  it 
is  not  allowed;  but  as  if  thou  wast  now  dying, 
despise  the  flesh;  it  is  blood  and  bones  and 

*Xenophon,   INIein.  ii.  3.  18. 


Book  II.]     /Bbarcus  Burclius  Bntontnus. 


network,  a  contexture  of  nerves,  veins,  and 
arteries.  See  the  breath  also,  what  khi'l  ol  a 
thing  it  is;  air,  and  not  always  the  same,  but 
every  moment  sent  out  and  again  sucked  in. 
The  third,  then,  is  the  ruling  part;  consider 
thus:  Thou  art  an  old  man;  no  longer  let  this 
be  a  slave,  no  longer  be  pulled  by  the  strings 
like  a  puppet  to  unsocial  movements,  no  longer 
be  either  dissatisfied  with  thy  present  lot,  or 
shrink  from  the  future. 

3.  All  that  is  from  the  gods  is  full  of  provi- 
dence.    That  which  is  from  fortune  is  not  Sep- 
arated from  nature  or  without  an  interweaving 
and    involution    with    the    things    which   are 
ordered  by  providence.      From  thence  all  things 
flow;   and  there  is  besides  necessity,  and  that 
which  is  for  the  ad  vantage  of  the  whole  universe, 
of  which  thou  art  a  part.     But  that  is  good  for 
every  part  of  nature  which  the  nature  of  the 
whole  brings,  and  what  serves  to  maintain  this 
nature.     Now  the  universe  is  preserved,  as  by 
the  changes  of  the  elements  so  by  the  changes 
of  things  compounded  of  the  elements.     .Let 
these  principles  be  enough  for  thee;  let  them 
always  be  fixed  opinions.     But  cast  away  the 
thirst  after  books,   that  thou   mayest  not  die 
murmuring,  but  cheerfully,  truly,  and  from  thy 
heart  thankful  to  the  gods. 

4.  Remember  how  long  thou  hast  been  put- 
ting off  these  things,  and  how  often  thou  hast 
received  an  opportunity  from  the  gods,  and  yet 
clost  not  use  it.     Thou  must  now  at  last  per- 


u8  ttbougbts.  [BooklL 

ceive  of  what  universe  thou  art  a  part,  and  of 
what  administrator  of  the  universe  thy  exist- 
ence is  an  efflux,  and  that  a  limit  of  time  is 
fixed  for  thee,  which  if  thou  dost  not  use  for 
clearing  away  the  clouds  from  thy  mind,  it  will 
go  and  thou  wilt  go,  and  it  will  never  return. 

5.  Every  moment  think  steadily  as  a  Roman 
and  a  man  to  do  what  thou  hast  in  hand  with 
perfect  and  simple  dignity,  and  feeling  of  af- 
fection, and  freedom,  and  justice,  and  to  give 
thyself  relief  from  all   other   thoughts.     And 
thou  wilt  give  thyself  relief  if  thou  doest  every 
act  of  thy  life  as  if  it  were  the  last,  laying  aside 
all   carelessness  and  passionate  aversion  from 
the   commands  of  reason,   and  all  hypocrisy, 
and  self-love,  and  discontent  with  the  portion 
which  has  been    given   to   thee.     Thou   seest 
ho\v  few  the  things  are,  th  ;  which  if  a  man 
lays  hold  of,  he  is  able  to  liv  ,  a  life  which  flows 
in  quiet,  and  is  like  the  existence  of  the  gods; 
for  the  gods  on  their  part  will  require  nothing 
more  from  him  who  observes  these  things. 

6.  Do  wron g:;:  to  thyself,  do  wrong  to  thy- 
self, my  soul;  but  thou  wilt  no  longer  have  the 
opportunity  of  honoring  thyself.     Kvery  man's 
life  is  sufficient.  -     But  thine  is  nearly  finished, 
though  thy  soul  reverences  not  itself,  but  places 
thy  felicity  in  the  souls  of  others. 

7.  Do  the  things  external  which  fall  upon 

*  Perhaps  it  should  be,  "  thou  art  doing  violence  to 
thyself."  v,3pi$£te,  not  vfii>t&. 


Booktt]     .flfcarcus  Burelfus  Bntonfnus. 


thee  distract  thee  ?  Give  thyself  time  to  learn 
something  new  and  good,  and  cease  to  be 
whirled  around.  But  then  thou  must  also 
avoid  being  carried  about  the  other  way;  for 
those  too  are  triilers  who  have  wearied  them- 
selves in  life  by  their  activity,  and  yet  have  no 
object  to  which  to  direct  every  movement,  and, 
in  a  word,  all  their  thoughts. 

S.  Through   not  observing  what   is  in    th 
mind  of  another  a  man  has  seldom  been  seen 
to  be  unhappy;  but  those  who  do  not  observe 
the  movements  of  their  own  minds  must  of  ne- 
cessity be  unhappy. 

9.  This   thou    must   always   bear   in    mind, 
what  is  the  nature  of  the  whole,  and  what  is 
my  nature,  and  how  this  is  related  to  that,  and 
what  kind  of  a  part  it  is  of  what  kind  of  a 
whole,   and  that  there  is  no  one  who  hinders 
thee  from  always  doing  and  saying  the  things 
which  are  according  to  the  nature  of  which 
thou  art  a  part. 

10.  Theophrastus,  in  his  comparison  of  bad 
acts  —  such  a  comparison  as  one  \vould  make  in 
accordance  with  the  common  notions  of  man- 
kind —  says,  like  a  true  philosopher,   that  the 
offenses  which  are  committed  through  desire  are 
more  blamable  than  those  which  are  committed 
through   anger.     For   he  who   is  excited   by 
anger  seems  to  turn  away  from  reason  with  a 
certain  pain  and  unconscious  contraction;  but 
he  who  offends  through  desire,  being  overpow- 
ered by  pleasure,  seems  to  be  in  a  manner  more 


120  Cbougbts.  [Book  E 

intemperate  and  more  womanish  in  his  offences. 
Rightly,  then,  and  in  a  way  worthy  of  phil- 
osophy, he  said  that  the  offence  which  is  com- 
mitted with  pleasure  is  more  blamable  than 
that  which  is  committed  with  pain;  and  on  the 
whole  the  one  is  more  like  a  person  wrho  has 
been  first  wronged  and  through  pain  is  com- 
pelled to  be  angry,  but  the  other  is  moved  by 
his  own  impulse  to  do  wrong,  being  carried  to- 
wards doing  something  by  desire. 

ii.  Since  it  is  possible*  that  thon  mayest 
depart  from  life  this  very  moment,  regulate  every 
act  and  thought  accordingly. f  But  to  go  away 
from  among  men,  if  there  are  gods,  is  not  a 
thing  to  be  afraid  of,  for  the  gods  will  not  in- 
volve thee  in  evil;  but  if  indeed  they  do  not 
exist,  or  if  they  have  no  concern  about  human 
affairs,  what  is  it  to  me  to  live  in  a  universe 
devoid  of  gods  or  devoid  of  providence?  But 
in  truth  they  do  exist,  and  they  do  care  for 
human  things,  and  they  have  put  all  the  means 
in  man's  power  to  enable  him  not  to  fall  into 
real  evils.  And  as  to  the  rest,  if  th.re  was  any- 
thing evil,  they  would  have  provided  for  this 
also,  that  it  should  be  altogether  in  a  man's 
power  not  to  fall  into  it.  Xow  that  which  does 
not  make  a  man  worse,  how  can  it  make  a  man's 
life  worse?  But  neither  through  ignorance,  nor 

*  Or  it  may  mean,  "since  it  is  in  thy  power  to  de- 
part;'' which  Dive's  a  meaning  somewhat  different. 

1  See  Cicero,  Tuscnl.,   i.  49. 


BookIL]      rtbarciuj  SurclUiiJ  Bntoninus.          121 


having  the  knowledge  but  not  the  power  to 
guard  against  or  correct  these  tilings,  is  it  pos- 
sible that  the  nature  of  the  universe  has  over- 
looked them;  nor  is  it  possible  that  it  has  made 
so  great  a  mistake,  either  through  want  of 
power  or  want  of  skill,  that  good  and  evil 
should  happen  indiscriminately  to  the  good  and 
the  bad.  Hut  death  certainly,  and  life,  honor 
and  dishonor,  pain  and  pleasure, — all  these 
'hings  equally  happen  to  good  men  and  bad, 
being  things  which  make  us  neither  better  nor 
worse.  Therefore  they  are  neither  good  nor 
:vil. 

12.  How  quickly  all  things  disappear, — in 
''•.e  universe  the  bodies  themselves,  but  in  time 
the  remembrance  of  them.  What  is  the  nature 
of  all  sensible  things,  and  particularly  those 
which  attract  with  the  bait  of  pleasure  or  terrify 
by  pain,  or  are  noised  abroad  by  vapory  fame; 
how  worthless,  and  contemptible,  and  sordid, 
and  perishable,  and  dead  they  are,- — all  this  it 
is  the  part  of  the  intellectual  faculty  to  observe. 
To  observe  too  who  these  are  whose  opinions 
and  voices  give  reputation;  what  death  is,  and 
the  fact  that,  if  a  man  looks  at  it  in  itself,  and 
by  the  abstractive  power  of  reflection  resolves 
into  their  parts  all  the  things  which  present 
themselves  to  the- imagination  in  it,  lie  will  then 
consider  it  to  be  nothing  else  than  an  operation 
of  nature;  and  if  any  one  is  afraid  of  an  opera- 
tion of  nature,  he  is  a  child.  This,  however, 
^  not  only  an  operation  ol  nature,  but  it  is  also 


i22  Gbougbts.  [Bookn. 

a  thing  which  conduces  to  the  purposes  of  na- 
ture. To  observe  too  how  man  comes  near  to  the 
Deity,  and  by  what  part  of  him,  and  when  this 
part  of  man  is  so  disposed +  (vi.  28). 

13.  Nothing  is  more  wretched  than  a  man 
,who  traverses  everything  in  a  round,  and  pries 
•into  the  things  beneath  the  earth,  as  the  poet* 
says,  and  seeks  by  conjecture  what  is  in   the 
minds  of    his   neighbors,    without   perceiving 
that   it  is  sufficient   to  attend  to  the  daemon 
within  him,  and  to  reverence  it  sincerely.    And 
reverence  of  the  daemon  consists  in  keeping  it 
pure   from   passion    and    thoughtlessness,  and 
dissatisfaction  with  what  comes  from  gods  and 
men.      For   the   things  from    the  gods   merit 
veneration  for  their  excellence;  and.  the  things 
from  men  should  be  dear  to  us  by  reason  of 
kinship;  and    sometimes   even    in    a   manner, 
they  move  our  pity  by  reason  of  men's   igno- 
rance of  good  and   bad;  this  defect  being  not 
less  than  that  which  deprives  us  of  the  power 
of  distinguishing  things  that   are  white   and 
black. 

14.  Though  thou  shouldest  be  going  to  live 
three  thousand  years    and  as  many  times  ten 
thousand  years,  still   remember  that  no  man 
loses  any  other  life   than  this  which  he  now 
lives,  nor  lives  any  other  than  this  which  he 
now  loses.     The  longest  and  shortest  are  thus 
brought  to  the  same.     For  the  present  is   the 

*  Pindar,  in  the  Theaetetus  of  Plato.     See  xi.  I. 


Bookn.]     flfcarcus  Sureltus  Bntonfnus.          123 

same  to  all,  though  that  which  perisli  is  not 
the  same;4-:::  and  so  that  which  is  lost  appears 
to  be  a  mere  moment.  For  a  man  cannot  lose 
either  the  past  or  the  future:  for  what  a  man 
has  not,  how  can  any  one  take  this  from  him? 
These  two  things  then  thou  must  bear  in  mind; 
the  one,  that  all  things  from  eternity  are  of 
like  forms  and  come  round  in  a  circle,  and  that 
it  makes  no  difference  whether  a  man  shall  see 
the  same  things  during  a  hundred  years,  or 
two  hundred,  or  an  infinite  time;  and  the  sec- 
ond, that  the  longest  liver  and  he  who  will  die 
.soonest  lose  just  the  same.  For  the  present  is 
the  only  thing  of  which  a  man  can  be  deprived, 
if  it  is  true  that  this  is  the  only  thing  which  he 
has,  and  that  a  man  cannot  lose  a  thing  if  he 
has  it  not. 

15.  Remember  that  all  is  opinion.     For  what 
was  said  by  the  Cynic  Monimus  is  manifest : 
and  manifest  too  is  the  use  of  what  was  said,  if 
a  man  receives  what  may  be  got  out  of  it  as  far 
as  it  is  true. 

1 6.  The  soul  of  man  does  violence  to  itself, 
first  of  all,  when  it  becomes  an  abscess,  and,  as 
it  were,  a  tumor  on  the  universe,  so  far  as  it 
can.     For  to  be  vexed  at  anything  which  hap- 
pens is  a  separation  of  ourselves  from  nature, 
in  some  part  of  which  the  natures  of  all  other 
things  are  contained.     In  the  next  place,  the 
soul  does  violence  to  itself  when  it  turns  away 

*  See  Gataker's  note. 


124  GbOUSbte.  [BookIL 

from  any  man,  or  even  moves  towards  him  with 
the  intention  of  injuring,  such  as  are  the  souls 
of  those  who  are  angry.  In  the  third  place, 
the  soul  does  violence  to  itself  when  it  is  over- 
powered by  pleasure  or  by  pain.  Fourthly, 
when  it  plays  a  part,  and  does  or  says  anything 
insincerely  and  untruly.  Fifthly,  when  it  al- 
lows any  act  of  its  own  and  any  movement  to 
be  without  an  aim,  and  does  anything  thought- 
lessly and  without  considering  what  it  is,  it 
being  right  that  even  the  smallest  things  be 
done  with  reference  to  an  end;  and  the  end  of 
rational  animals  is  to  follow  the  reason  and  the 
law  of  the  most  ancient  city  and  polity. 

17.  Of  human  life  the  time  is  a  point,  and 
the  substance  is  in  a  flux,  and  the  perception 
dull,  and  the  composition  of  the  whole  body 
subject  to  putrefaction,  and  the  soul  a  whirl, 
and  fortune  hard  to  divine,  and  fame  a  thing 
devoid  of  judgment.  And,  to  say  all  in  a  word, 
even-thing  which  belongs  to  the  body  is  a 
stream,  and  what  belongs  to  the  soul  is  a  dream 
and  vapor,  and  life  is  a  warfare  and  a  stranger's 
sojourn,  and  after-fame  is  oblivion.  What  then 
is  that  which  is  able  to  conduct  a  man  ?  One 
thing,  and  only  one,  philosophy.  But  this 
consists  in  keeping  the  daemon  within  a  man 
free  from  violence  and  unharmed,  superior  to 
pains  and  pleasures,  doing  nothing  without  a 
purpose,  nor  yet  falsely  and  with  hypocrisy, 
not  feeling  the  need  of  another  man's  doing  or 
not  doiiiii  anything;  and  besides,  accepting  all 


Book  II.]     .flfcarcue  aurclius  Bntonfnus.  lf$ 

that  happens,  and  all  that  is  allotted,  as  com- 
ing from  thence,  wherever  it  is,  from  whence 
he  himself  came;  and,  finally,  waiting  for  death 
with  a  cheerful  mind,  as  being  nothing  else 
than  a  dissolution  of  the  elements  of  which 
every  living  being  is  compounded.  But  if  there 
is  no  harm  to  the  elements  themselves  in  each 
continually  changing  into  another,  why  should 
a  man  have  any  apprehension  about  the  change 
and  dissolution  of  all  the  elements?  For  it  is 
according  to  nature,  and  nothing  is  evil  which 
is  according  to  nature. 
This  in  Carnuntum.* 

*  Carnuntum  was  a  town  of  Pannonia,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Danube,  about  thirty  miles  east  of  Vindo- 
bona  i  Vienna).  Orosius  (vii.  15)  and  Kutropins  (viii. 
13)  say  that  Antoninus  remained  three  years  at  Car- 
iiumtum  during  his  war  with  the  Marcomanni. 


126  abOUQbtS.  [Book  III. 


III. 

WE  ought  to  consider  not  only  that  our  life 
is  daily  wasting  away  and  a  smaller  part 
of  it  is  left,  but  another  thing  also  must  be 
taken  into  the  account,  that  if  a  man  should 
live  longer,  it  is  quite  uncertain  whether  the  un- 
derstanding will  still  continue  sufficient  for  the 
comprehension  of  tilings,  and  retain  the  power 
of  contemplation  which  strives  to  acquire  the 
knowledge  of  the  divine  and  the  human.  For 
if  he  shall  begin  to  fall  into  dotage,  perspiration 
and  nutrition  and  imagination  and  appetite,  and 
whatever  else  there  is  of  the  kind,  will  not  fail; 
but  the  power  of  making  use  of  ourselves,  and 
filling  up  the  measure  of  our  duty,  and  clearly 
separating  all  appearances,  and  considering 
whether  a  man  should  now  depart  from  life, 
and  whatever  else  of  the  kind  absolutely  re- 
quires a  disciplined  reason, — all  this  is  already 
extinguished.  \Ve  must  make  haste,  then,  not 
only  because  we  are  daily  nearer  to  death,  but 
also  because  the  conception  of  things  and  the 
understanding  (if  them  cease  first. 

2.  We  ought  to  observe  also  that  even  the 
things  which  follow  after  the  things  which 
are  produced  according  to  nature  contain 
something  pleasing  and  attractive.  For  in- 
stance, when  bread  is  baked  some  parts  are 


Book  III.]    flfcarcus  Hurclius  Bntoninus.  127 

split  at  the  surface,  and  these  parts  which 
thus  open,  and  have  a  certain  fashion  contrary 
to  the  purpose  of  the  baker's  art,  are  beautiful  in 
a  manner,  and  in  a  peculiar  way  excite  a  desire 
for  eating.  And  again,  figs,  when  they  are 
quite  ripe,  gape  open;  and  in  the  ripe  olives  the 
very  circumstance  of  their  being  near  to  rotten- 
ness adds  a  peculiar  beauty  to  the  fruit.  And 
the  ears  of  corn  bending1  down,  and  the  lion's 
eyebrows,  and  the  foam  which  flows  from  the 
mouth  of  wild  boars,  and  many  other  things, — 
though  they  are  far  from  being  beautiful  if  a. 
man  should  examine  them  severally, — still,  be- 
cause they  are  consequent  upon  the  tilings 
which  are  formed  by  nature,  help  to  adorn 
them,  and  they  please  the  mind;  so  that  if  a 
man  should  have  a  feeling  and  deeper  insight 
with  respect  to  the  things  which  are  produced 
in  the  universe,  there  is  hardly  one  of  those 
which  follow  by  way  of  consequence  which 
will  not  seem  to  him  to  be  in  a  manner  dis- 
posed so  as  to  give  pleasure.  And  so  he  will 
see  even  the  real  gaping  jaws  of  wild  beasts 
with  no  less  pleasure  than  those  which  painters 
and  sculptors  show  by  imitation;  and  in  an  old 
woman  and  an  old  man  he  will  be  able  to  see  a 
certain  maturity  and  comeliness;  and  the  at- 
tractive loveliness  of  young  persons  he  will  be 
able  to  look  on  with  chaste  eyes;  and  many 
such  things  will  present  themselves,  not  pleas- 
ing to  every  man,  but  to  him  only  who  has  be- 
come truly  familiar  with  Nature  and  her  works. 


128  CbOUflbtS.  [Book  III. 

3.  Hippocrates,  after  curing  many  diseases, 
himself  fell  sick  and  died.     The  Chaldaei  fore- 
told the  deaths  of  many,  and  then  fate  caught 
them    too.       Alexander   and    Pompeius,     and 
Caius  Caesar,  after  so  often  completely  destroy- 
ing whole  cities,  and  in  battle  cutting  to  pieces 
many  ten  thousands  of  cavalry  and  infantry, 
themselves    too    at    last    departed    from    life. 
Heraclitus,  after  so  many  speculations  on  the 
conflagration  of  the  universe,   was  filled  with 
water  internally  and  died  smeared  all  over  with 
mud.       And    lice   destroyed    Democritus;  and 
other   lice   killed   Socrates.     What   means   all 
this?     Thou  hast  embarked,   thou  hast  made 
the  voyage,  thou  art  come  to  shore;  get  out. 
If  indeed  to  another  life,  there  is  no  want  of 
gods,  not  even  there;  but  if  to  a  state  without 
sensation,  thou  wilt  cease  to  be  held  by  pains 
and  pleasures,  and  to  be  a  slave  to  the  vessel, 
which  is  as  much  inferior  as  that  which  serves 
it  is  superior:       for  the  one  is  intelligence  and 
deity;  the  other  is  earth  and  corruption. 

4.  Do  not  waste  the  remainder  of  thy  life  in 
thoughts   about    others,  when    thou    dost   not 
refer  thy  thoughts  to  some  object  of  common 
utility.       For  thou  losest  the  opportunity   of 
doing   something   else   when    thou   hast    such 
thoughts   as   these, — -What   is   such    a    person 
doing,  and  why,  and  what  is  he  saying,   and 
what  is  he  thinking  of,  and  what  is  he  contriv- 
ing, and  whatever  else  of  the  kind  makes  us 
wander  away  from  the  observation  of  our  OWTU 


INTERIOR  OF  THE  PARTHENON 


Book  ill.  i     fl&arcue  Burclfus  Bntonfnus.          129 

ruling  power.  \Ye  ought  then  to  check  in  the 
series  of  our  thoughts  everything  that  is  with- 
out a  purpose  and  useless,  but  most  of  all  the 
over-curious  feeling  and  the  malignant;  and  a. 
man  should  use  himself  to  think  of  those 
things  only  about  which  if  one  should  sudden- 
ly ask,  What  hast  thoti  now  in  thy  thoughts  ? 
with  perfect  openness  thou  mightest  immedi- 
ately answer,  This  or  That;  so  that  from  tin- 
words  it  should  be  plain  that  even-thing  in 
thee  is  simple  and  benevolent,  and  such  as  be- 
fits a  social  animal,  and  one  that  cares  not  for 
thoughts  about  pleasure  or  sensual  enjoyments 
at  all,  nor  has  any  rivalry  or  envy  and  sus- 
picion, or  anything  else  for  which  thou  wouldst 
blush  if  thou  shouldst  say  that  thou  hadst  it  in 
thy  mind.  For  the  man  who  is  such,  and  no 
longer  delays  being  among  the  number  of  the 
best,  is  like  a  priest  and  minister  of  the  gods, 
using  too  the  [deity]  which  is  planted  within 
him,  which  makes  the  man  uncontaminated  by 
pleasure,  unharmed  by  any  pain,  untouched  by 
any  insult,  feeling  no  wrong,  a  fighter  in  the 
noblest  fight,  one  who  cannot  be  overpowered 
by  any  passion,  dyed  dee])  with  justice,  accept- 
ing with  all  his  soul  everything  which  happens 
and  is  assigned  to  him  as  his  portion;  and  not 
often,  nor  yet  without  great  necessity  and 
for  the  general  interest,  imagining  what  an- 
other says,  or  does,  or  thinks.  For  it  is  only 
what  belongs  to  himself  that  he  makes  the 
matter  for  his  activity ;  and  he  constantly 
9 


130  Gbougbts.  [Book  Hi 

thinks  of  that  which  is  allotted  to  himself  out 
of  the  sum  total  of  things,  and  he  makes  his 
own  acts  fair,  and  he  is  persuaded  that  his  own 
portion  is  good.  For  the  lot  which  is  assigned 
to  each  man  is  carried  along  with  him  and 
Jarries  him  along  with  it.-f  And  he  remem- 
bers also  that  even-  rational  animal  is  his  kins- 
man, and  that  to  care  for  all  men  is  according 
to  man's  nature  ;  and  a  man  should  hold  on  to 
the  opinion  not  of  all,  but  of  those  only  who 
confessedly  live  according  to  nature.  But  as  to 
those  who  live  not  so,  he  always  bears  in  mind 
what  kind  of  men  they  are  both  at  home  and 
from  home,  both  by  night  and  by  da}',  and 
what  they  are,  and  with  what  men  they  live 
an  impure  life.  Accordingly,  he  does  not  value 
at  all  the  praise  which  comes  from  such  men, 
since  they  are  not  even  satisfied  with  them- 
selves. 

5.  Labor  not  unwillingly,  nor  without  regard 
to  the  common  interest,  nor  without  due  con- 
sideration, nor  with  distraction  ;  nor  let  studied 
ornament  set  off  thy  thoughts,  and  be  not 
either  a  man  of  many  words,  or  busy  about  too 
many  things.  And  further,  let  the  deity  which 
is  in  thee  be  the  guardian  of  a  living  being, 
manly  and  of  ripe  age,  and  engaged  in  matter 
political,  and  a  Roman,  and  a  ruler,  who  has 
taken  his  post  like  a  man  waiting  for  the  signal 
Arhich  summons  him  from  life,  and  ready  to  go, 
having  need  neither  of  oath  nor  of  any  man's 
testimony.  Be  cheerful  also,  and  seek  not  ex- 


Book  in.]     rtSarcue  Sureliua  Sntonfnu0.         131 

ternal  help  nor  the  tranquillity  which  others 
give.  A  man  then  must  stand  erect,  not  be 
kept  erect  by  others. 

6.  If  them  findest  in  human  life  anything 
better  than  justice,  truth,  temperance,  fortitude, 
and,  in  a  word,  anything  better  than  thy  own 
mind's  self-satisfaction  in  the  things  which  it 
enables  thee  to  do  according  to  right  reason, 
and  in  the  condition  that  is  assigned  to  thee 
without  thy  own  choice  ;  if,  I  say,  thou  seest 
anything  better  than  this,  turn  to  it  with  all 
thy  soul,  and  enjoy  that  which  thou  hast  found 
to  be  the  best.  Hut  if  nothing  appears  to  be 
better  than  the  Deity  which  is  planted  in  thee. 
which  has  subjected  to  itself  all  thy  appetites, 
and  carefully  examines  all  the  impressions,  and, 
as  Socrates  said,  has  detached  itself  from  the 
persuasions  of  sense,  and  has  submitted  itself 
to  the  gods,  and  cares  for  mankind ;  if  thou 
findest  everything  else  smaller  and  of  less  value 
than  this,  give  place  to  nothing  else,  for  if  thou 
clost  once  diverge  and  incline  to  it,  thou  wilt 
no  longer  without  distraction  be  able  to  give 
the  preference  to  that  good  thing  which  is  thy 
proper  possession  and  thy  own  ;  for  it  is  not 
right  that  anything  of  any  other  kind,  such  as 
praise  from  the  many,  or  power,  or  enioymeiit 
of  pleasure,  should  come  into  competition  with 
that  which  is  rationally  and  politically  [or, 
practically]  good.  All  these  things,  even 
though  they  may  seem  to  adapt  themselves 
[to  the  better  things]  in  a  small  degree,  obtain 


i^9  ZTbougbts.  [Book  m. 

the  superiority  all  at  once,  and  carry  us  away, 
But  do  thou,  I  say,  simply  and  freely  choose 
the  better,  and  hold  to  it. — But  that  which  is 
useful  is  the  better. — Well,  then,  if  it  is  useful 
to  thee  as  a  rational  being,  keep  to  it:  but  if  it 
is  only  useful  to  thee  as  an  animal,  say  so,  and 
maintain  thy  judgment  without  arrogance:  only 
take  care  that  thou  makest  the  inquiry  by  a 
sure  method. 

7.  Never  value  anything  as  profitable  to  thy- 
self which  shall  compel  thee  to  break  thy  prom- 
ise, to  lose  thy  self-respect,  to  hate  any  man,  to 
suspect,  to  curse,  to  act  the  hypocrite,  to  desire 
anything  which  needs  walls  and  curtains:  for 
he  who  has  preferred  to  everything  else  his  own 
intelligence  and  daemon  and  the  worship  of  its 
excellence,  acts  no  tragic  part,  does  not  groan, 
will  not  need  either  solitude  or  much  company; 
and,  what  is  chief  of  all,  he  will  live  without 
either  pursuing  or  flying  from  [death]  ;*  but 
whether  for  a  longer  or  a  shorter  time  he  shall 
have  the   soul   enclosed   in   the  body,  he  cares 
not  at  all:  for  even  if  he  must  depart  immedi- 
ately, he  will  go  as  readily  as  if  he  were  going 
to  do  anything  else  which   can  be  clone   with 
decency  and  order;  taking  care  of  this  only  all 
through  life,  that  his  thoughts  turn  not  away 
from  anything  which  belongs  to  an  intelligent 
animal  and  a  member  of  a  civil  community. 

8.  In  the  mind  of  one  who  is  chastened  and 

*  Coinp.  ix.  3. 


Book  III.]     Aarcue  Surclfus  Hntoninus.  133 

purified  thou  wilt  find  no  corrupt  matter,  nor 
impurity,  nor  any  sore  skinned  over.  Nor  is 
his  life  incomplete  when  fate  overtakes  him,  as 
one  may  say  of  an  actor  who  leaves  the  stage 
before  ending  and  finishing  the  play.  Besides, 
there  is  in  him  nothing  servile,  nor  affected, 
nor  too  closely  bound  [to  other  things],  nor  yet 
detached*  [from  other  things],  nothing  worthy 
of  blame,  nothing  which  seeks  a  hiding-place. 

9.  Reverence   the   faculty   which    produces 
opinion.     On  this  faculty  it  entirely  depends 
whether  there  shall  exist  in  thy  ruling  part  any 
opinion  inconsistent  with  nature  and  the  con- 
stitution  of    the   rational    animal.     And    this 
faculty  promises  freedom  from  hasty  judgment, 
and  friendship  towards  men,  and  obedience  to 
the  gods. 

10.  Throwing  away  then  all  things,  hold  to 
these  only  which  are  few;  and  besides,  bear  in 
mind  that  every  man   lives  only  this  present 
time,  which  is  an  indivisible  point,   and  that 
all  the  rest  of  his  life  is  either  past  or  it  is  un- 
certain.    Short  then  is  the  time  which  every 
man   lives;  and  small   the  nook  of  the  earth 
where  he  lives;  and  short  too  the  longest  post- 
humous fame,  and  even  this  only  continued  by  a. 
succession  of  poor  human  beings,  who  will  very 
soon  die,  and  who  know  not  even  themselves, 
much  less  him  who  died  long  ago. 

1 1 .  To  the  aids  which  have  been  mentioned 


i34  Gbougbts.  [BookllL 

let  this  one  still  be  added:  Make  for  thyself  a 
definition  or  description  of  the  thing  which  is 
presented  to  thee,  so  as  to  see  distinctly  what 
kind  of  a  thing  it  is  in  its  substance,  in  its  nud- 
ity, in  its  complete  entirety,  and  tell  thyself  its 
proper  name,  and  the  names  of  the  things  of 
which  it  has  been  compounded,  and  into  which 
it  will  be  resolved.  For  nothing  is  so  produc- 
tive of  elevation  of  mind  as  to  be  able  to  exam- 
ine methodically  and  truly  every  object  which 
is  presented  to  thee  in  life,  and  always  to  look 
at  things  so  as  to  see  at  the  same  time  what 
kind  of  universe  this  is,  and  what  kind  of  use 
everything  performs  in  it,  and  what  value 
everything  has  with  reference  to  the  whole, 
and  what  with  reference  to  man,  who  is  a  citi- 
zen of  the  highest  city,  of  which  all  other  cities 
are  like  families;  what  each  thing  is,  and  of 
what  it  is  composed,  and  how  long  it  is  the 
nature  of  this  thing  to  endure  which  now 
makes  an  impression  on  me,  and  what  virtue  I 
have  need  of  with  respect  to  it,  such  as  gentle- 
ness, manliness,  truth,  fidelity,  simplicity,  con- 
tentment, and  the  rest.  Wherefore,  on  every 
occasion  a  man  should  say:  This  comes  from 
god;  and  this  is  according  to  the  apportion- 
ment -f  and  spinning  of  the  thread  of  destiny, 
and  such-like  coincidence  and  chance;  and  this 
is  from  one  of  the  same  stock,  and  a  kinsman 
and  partner,  one  who  knows  not,  however, 
what  is  according  to  his  nature.  But  I  know; 
for  this  reason  I  behave  towards  him  according 


•Book III.]     Marcus  Burclius  Bntonlnus.  135 

to  the  natural  law  of  fellowship  with  benevo- 
lence and  justice.  At  the  same  time,  however, 
in  things  indifferent*  I  attempt  to  ascertain 
the  value  of  each. 

12.  If  them  \vorkest  at  that  which  is  before 
thee,   following    right  reason   seriously,  vigor- 
ously, calmly,  without  allowing  anything  else 
to  distract   thee,  but  keeping  thy  divine  part 
pure,  as  if  them  shouldst  be  bound  to  give  it 
back  immediately;  if  tliou  boldest  to  this,  ex- 
pecting nothing,  fearing  nothing,  but  satisfied 
with  thy  present  activity  according  to  nature, 
and  with  heroic  truth  in  every  word  and  sound 
which    thou    utterest,   thou   wilt    live   happy. 
And  there  is  no  man  who  is  able  to  prevent 
this. 

13.  As  physicians  have  always  their  instru- 
ments and  knives  ready  for  cases  which  sud- 
denly require  their  skill,  so  do  thou  have  prin- 
ciples ready  for  the  understanding   of  things 
divine  and  human,  and  for  doing  everything, 
eveu  the   smallest,  with  a  recollection  of  the 
bond  which  unites  the  divine  and  human   to 
one  another.     For  neither  wilt   thou  do  any- 
thing well  which  pertains  to  man  without  at 
the   same   time  having  a  reference  to  things 
divine;  nor  the  contrary. 

14.  No  longer  wander  at  hazard  ;  for  neither 
wilt  thou  read  thy  own  memoirs,!  nor  the  acts 

*  Est  et  horam  quae  media  appellamus  grande  dis- 
crimeii. — Seneca,  Ep.  cS2. 

f  {--ouvfjuara:  or  memoranda,  notes,  and  the  like. 
See  i.  17. 


136  Cbougbts.  [Bookin. 

of  the  ancient  Romans  and  Hellenes,  and  the 
selections  from  books  which  thou  wast  reserv- 
ing for  thy  old  age.*  Hasten  then  to  the  end 
which  thou  hast  before  thee,  and,  throwing 
away  idle  hopes,  come  to  thy  own  aid,  if  thou 
carest  at  all  for  thyself,  while  it  is  in  thy 
power. 

15.  They    know  not  how  many   things  are 
signified  by  the  words  stealing,  sowing,  buy- 
ing,  keeping  quiet,  seeing  what  ought  to  be 
done  ;  for  this  is  not  effected  by  the  eyes,  but 
by  another  kind  of  vision. 

16.  Body,  soul,  intelligence:  to  the  body  be- 
long  sensation,    to  the  soul  appetites,    to  the 
intelligence  principles.     To  receive  the  impres- 
sions of  forms  by  means  of  appearances  belongs 
even  to  animals ;  to  be  pulled  by  the  stringsf 
of  desire  belongs  both  to  wild  beasts  and  to 
men  who  have  made  themselves  into  women, 
and  to  a  Phalaris  and  a  Xero  :  and  to  have  the 
intelligence   that  guides  to  the   tilings  which 
appear  suitable  belongs  also  to  those  who  do 
not  believe  in  the  gods,  and  who  betray  their 
country,  and  do  their  impure  deeds  when  they 
have  shut  the  doors.     If  then  everything  else 

*  Compare  Pronto,  ii.  9,  a  letter  of  Marcus  to 
Pronto,  who  was  then  consul:  "  Peci  tamen  mihi  per 
hos  dies  excerpta  ex  libris  sexaginta  in  quinque 
tomis."  But  he  says  some  of  them  were  small  books. 

t  Compare  Plato,  I)e  Legibus,  i.  p.  644,  In  ravra  TO. 
Kutii]  etc.;  and  Antoninus,  ii.  2;  vii.  3;  xii.  19. 


Book  III.]     flftarcus  Burclius  Bntoninus.          137 

is  common  to  all  that  I  have  mentioned,  there 
remains  that  which  is  peculiar  to  the  good  man, 
to  be  pleased  and  content  with  what  happens, 
and  with  the  thread  which  is  spun  for  him  ; 
and  not  to  defile  the  divinity  which  is  planted 
in  his  breast,  nor  disturb  it  by  a  crowd  of 
images,  but  to  preserve  it  tranquil,  following 
it  obediently  as  a  god,  neither  saying  anything 
contrary  to  the  truth,  nor  doing  anything  con- 
trary to  justice.  And  if  all  men  refuse  to  be- 
lieve that  he  lives  a  simple,  modest,  and  con- 
tented life,  he  is  neither  angry  with  any  of 
them,  nor  does  he  deviate  from  the  way  which 
leads  to  the  end  of  life,  to  which  a  man  ought 
to  come  pure,  tranquil,  read}"  to  depart,  and 
without  any  compulsion  perfectly  reconciled  to 
his  lot, 


138  ^bOUQbtS.  [Book  IV. 


IV. 

which  rules  within,  when  it  is  accord - 
X  ing  to  nature,  is  so  affected  with  respect  to 
the  events  which  happened,  that  it  always  easily 
adapts  itself  to  that  which  is  possible  and  is 
presented  to  it.  For  it  requires  no  definite 
material,  but  it  moves  towards  its  purpose,* 
under  certain  conditions,  however;  and  it 
makes  a  material  for  itself  out  of  that  which 
opposes  it,  as  fire  lays  hold  of  what  falls  into 
it,  by  which  a  small  light  would  have  been  ex- 
tinguished; but  when  the  fire  is  strong,  it  soon 
appropriates  to  itself  the  matter  which  is  heaped 
on  it,  and  consumes  it,  and  rises  higher  by 
means  of  this  very  material. 

2.  Let  no  act  be  done  without  a  purpose,  nor 
otherwise  than  according  to  the  perfect  princi- 
ples of  art. 

3.  Men  seek  retreats  for  themselves,  houses 
in  the  country,  sea-shores,  and  mountains;  and 
thou  too  art  wont  to  desire  such  things  very 
much.     But  this  is  altogether  a  mark  of  the 
most  common    sort  of  men,  for  it    is   in    thy 
power  whenever   thou   shalt  choose  to  retire 

*  Tpof  TU  i/yorueva.  literally  "towards  that  which, 
leads."  The  exact  translation  is  doubtful.  See 
Gataker's  note- 


Book  iv.]    /Rarcus  SurcHus  Bntontnus.          139 

into  thyself.  For  nowhere  either  with  more 
quiet  or  more  freedom  from  trouble  does  a  man 
retire  than  into  his  own  sonl,  particularly  when 
he  has  within  him  such  thoughts  that  by  look- 
ing into  them  he  is  immediately  in  perfect 
tranquillity;  and  1  affirm  that  tranquillity  is 
nothing  else  than  the  good  ordering  of  the 
mind.  Constantly  then  give  to  thyself  this 
retreat,  and  renew  thyself;  and  let  thy  princi- 
ples be  brief  and  fundamental,  which,  as  soon 
as  thou  slialt  recur  to  them,  will  be  sufficient 
to  cleanse  the  soul  completely,  and  to  send 
thee  back  free  from  all  discontent  with  the 
things  to  which  thou  returnest.  For  with 
what  art  thou  discontented  ?  With  the  badness 
of  men?  Recall  to  thy  mind  this  conclusion, 
that  rational  animals  exist  for  one  another,  and 
that  to  endure  is  a  part  of  justice,  and  that  men 
do  wrong  involuntarily;  and  consider  how  many 
already,  alter  mutual  enmity,  suspicion,  hatred, 
and  lighting,  have  been  stretched  dead,  reduced 
to  ashes;  and  be  quiet  at  last. — But  perhaps 
thou  art  dissatisfied  with  that  \vhich  is  as- 
signed to  thee  out  of  the  universe.  —  Recall  to 
thy  recollection  this  alternative;  either  there  is 
providence  or  atoms  [fortuitous  concurrence  of 
things];  or  remember  the  arguments  by  which 
it  has  been  proved  that  the  world  is  a  kind  of 
political  community  [and  be  quiet  at  last]. — 
But  perhaps  corporeal  things  will  still  fasten 
upon  thee. — Consider  then  further  that  the 
mind  mingles  not  with  the  breath,  whether 


140  ZTbougbts.  [Book  IV. 

moving  gently  or  violently,  when  it  has  once 
drawn  itself  apart  and  discovered  its  own 
power,  and  think  also  of  all  that  thou  hast 
heard  and  assented  to  about  pain  and  pleasure 
[and  be  quiet  at  last]. — But  perhaps  the  desire 
of  the  thing  called  fame  will  torment  thee. — 
See  ho\v  soon  everything  is  forgotten,  and  look 
at  the  chaos  of  infinite  time  on  each  side  of  [the 
present],  and  the  emptiness  of  applause,  and 
the  changeableness  and  want  of  judgment  in 
those  who  pretend  to  give  praise,  and  the  nar- 
rowness' of  the  space  within  which  it  is  circum- 
scribed [and  be  quiet  at  last].  For  the  whole 
earth  is  a  point,  and  how  small  a  nook  in  it  is 
this  thy  dwelling,  and  how  few  are  there  in  it, 
and  what  kind  of  people  are  they  who  will 
praise  ihce. 

This  then  remains  :  Remember  to  retire  into 
this  little  territory  of  thy  own,*  and  above  all 
do  not  distract  or  strain  thyself,  but  be  free, 
and  look  at  things  as  a  man,  as  a  human  being, 
as  a  citizen,  as  a  mortal.  But  among  the 
things  readiest  to  thy  hand  to  which  thou  shalt 
turn,  let  there  be  these,  which  are  two.  One  is 
that  things  do  not  touch  the  soul,  tor  they  are 
external  and  remain  immovable  ;  but  our  per- 
turbations come  only  from  the  opinion  which  is 
within.  The  other  is  that  all  these  things, 
which  thou  seest,  change  immediately  and  will 
no  longer  be ;  and  constantly  bear  in  mind  how 

*  Terum  liabila,  noris  quam  sit  tibi  curta  supellex. 
s,  iv.  57. 


Book  IV.]     /Marcus  Hurcltus  Bntoninus.          141 

many  of  these  changes  thou  hast  already  wit- 
nessed. The  universe  is  transformation  :  life  is 
opinion. 

4.  If   our  intellectual  part  is  common,   the 
reason  also,  in  respect  of  which  \ve  are  rational 
beings,  is  common  :  if  this  is  so,  common  also  is 
the  reason  which  commands  us  what  to  do,  and 
what  not  to  do  ;  if  this  is  so,  there  is  a  common 
law  also  ;  if  this  is  so,  we  are  fellow-citizens  ;  if 
this  is  so,  we  are  members  of  some  political 
community  ;  if  this  is  so,  the  world  is  in  a  man- 
ner a  state. *    For  of  what  other  common  politi- 
cal community  will  any  one  say  that  the  whole 
human  race  are  members?     And  from  thence, 
from  this  common  political  community  comes 
also  our  very  intellectual  faculty  and  reasoning 
faculty  and  our  capacity  for  law  ;  or  whence  do 
they  come  ?     For  as  1113-  earthly  part  is  a  por- 
tion given  to  me  from  certain  earth,  and  that 
which  is  watery  from  another  element,  and  that 
which   is   hot   and    fiery   from    some   peculiar 
source  (for  nothing  comes  out  of  that  which  is 
nothing,  as  nothing  also  returns  to  non-exist- 
ence), so  also  the  intellectual  part  comes  from 
some  source. 

5.  Death  is  such  as  generation  is,  a  mystery 
of  nature;  composition  out  of  the  same  elements, 
and  a  decomposition   into  the  same  ;  and  al- 
together not  a  thing  of  which  any  man  should 
be  ashamed,  for  it  is  not  contrary  to  [the  nature 

*  Compare  Cicero  De  Legibus,  i.  7. 


142  UbOUfibte.  [Book  IV. 

of]  a  reasonable  animal,  and  not  contrary  to 
the  reason  of  our  constitution. 

6.  It  is  natural  that  these  things  should  be 
done  by  such  persons,  it  is  a  matter  of  necessity; 
and  if  a  man  will  not  have  it  so,  he  will  not 
allow  the  fig-tree  to  have  juice.     But  by  all 
means  bear  this  in   mind,  that  within  a  very 
short  time  both  thou  and  he  will  be  dead  ;  and 
soon  not  even  your  names  will  be  left  behind. 

7.  Take  away  thy  opinion,  and  then  there  is 
taken    away    the    complaint,      'I    have   been 
harmed."     Take  away  the  complaint,  "  I  have 
been  harmed,''  and  the  harm  is  taken  away. 

8.  That  which  does  not  make  a  man  worse 
than  he  was,  also  does  not  make  his  life  worse, 
nor  does  it  harm  him  either  from  without  or 
from  within, 

9.  The  nature  of  that  which  is  [universally] 
useful  has  been  compelled  to  do  this. 

10.  Consider  that  everything  which  happens, 
happens  justly,  and  if  thou  observest  carefully, 
thou  wilt  find  it  to  be  so.     I  do  not  say  only 
with  respect  to  the  continuity  of  the  series  of 
things,  but  with  respect  to  what  is  just,  and  as 
if  it  were  done  by   one   who  assigns  to  each 
thing  its  value.     Observe  then  as  thou  hast  be- 
gun ;  and  whatever  thou  doest,  do  it  in  con- 
junction with  this,  the  being  good,  and  in  the 
sense  in  which  a  man  is  properly  understood  to 
be  good.     Keep  to  this  in  every  action. 

1 1 .  Do  not  have  such  an  opinion  of  things  as 
he  has  who  does  thee  wrong,   or  such  as  he 


Book  IV.]     rtbarcus  Burelius  Bntoninus.  143 

wishes  thee  to  have,  but  look  at  them  as  they 
are  in  truth. 

12.  A  man  should  always   have  these    two 
rules  in  readiness ;  the  one  to  do  only  whatever 
the  reason  of  the  ruling  and  legislating  faculty 
may  suggest  for  the  use  of  men  ;  the  other,  to 
change  thy  opinion,  if  there  is  any  one  at  hand 
who  sets  thee  right  and  moves  thee  from  any 
opinion.     But  this  change  of  opinion  must  pro- 
ceed only  from  a  certain  persuasion,  as  of  what 
is  just  or  of  common  advantage,  and  the  like, 
not  because  it  appears  pleasant  or  brings  repu- 
tation. 

13.  Hast  thou  reason?     I  have. — \Vhythen 
dost  not  thou  use  it?     For  if  this  does  its  own 
work,  what  else  dost  thou  wish  ? 

14.  Thou  hast  existed  as  a  part.     Thou  shalt 
disappear   in    that  which    produced  thee;    but 
rather  thou  shalt  be  received  back  into  its  semi- 
nal principle  by  transmutation. 

15.  Many  grains  of  frankincense  on  the  same 
altar:  one  falls  before,  another  falls  after;  but 
it  makes  no  difference. 

1 6.  Within  ten   days  thou  wilt  seem  a  god 
to  those  to  whom  thou  art  now  a  beast  and  an 
ape,  if  thou  wilt  return  to  thy  principles  and 
the  worship  of  reason. 

17.  Do  not  act  as  if  thou  wert  going  to  live 
ten  thousand  years.     Death  hangs  over  thee. 
While  thou  livest,  while  it  is  in  thy  power,  be 
good. 

1 8.  How  much  trouble  he  avoids  who  does 


,T44  Cbougbts.  [Book  IV, 

not  look  to  see  what  his  neighbor  says  or  does 
or  thinks,  but  only  to  what  he  does  himself, 
that  it  may  be  just  and  pure ;  or,  as  Agatlion+ 
says,  look  not  round  at  the  depraved  morals  of 
others,  but  run  straight  along  the  line  without 
deviating  from  it. 

19.  He   who    has    a    vehement    desire    for 
posthumous  fame  does  not  consider  that  every 
one  of  those  who  remember  him  will  himself 
also  die  very  soon;  then  again  also  they  who 
have  succeeded  them,  until  the  whole  remem- 
brance shall  have  been  extinguished  as  it  is 
transmitted  through  men  who  foolishly  admire 
and  perish.     But  suppose  that  those  who  will 
remember  are  even  immortal,  and  that  the  re- 
membrance will  be  immortal,  what  then  is  this 
to  thee  ?     And  I  say  not  what  is  it  to  the  dead, 
but  what  is  it  to  the  living  ?     What  is  praise, 
except  +    indeed  so  far  as  it  has  +  a  certain 
utility  ?     For  thoti  now  rejectest  unseasonably 
the  gift  of  nature,  clinging  to  something  else 
.   .   .  +. 

20.  Everything  which  is  in  any  way  beauti- 
ful is  beautiful  in  itself,  and  terminates  in  itself, 
not  having  praise  as  part  of  itself.      Neither 
worse  then  nor  better  is  a  thing  made  by  being 
praised.     I  affirm  this  also  of  the  things  which 
are  called  beautiful  by  the  vulgar,  for  example, 
material  things  and  works  of  art.     That  which 
is   really  beautiful   has  no  need  of  anything; 
not  more  than  law,  not  more  than  truth,   not 
more  than  benevolence  or  modest}-.     Which  of 


Book  IV.]     Marcus  Burclius  Bntoninus.  145 

these  things  is  beautiful  because  it  is  praised, 
or  spoiled  by  being  blamed?  Is  such  a  thing 
as  an  emerald  made  worse  than  it  was,  if  it  is 
not  praised?  or  gold,  ivory,  purple,  a  lyre,  a 
little  knife,  a  flower,  a  shrub? 

21.  If  souls  continue  to  exist,  how  does  the 
air  contain  them  from  eternity  ? — But  how  does 
the  earth  contain  the  bodies  of  those  who  have 
been  buried  from  time  so  remote  ?  For  as  here 
the  mutation  of  these  bodies  after  a  curtain  con- 
tinuance, whatever  it  may  be,  and  their  disso- 
lution, make  room  for  other  dead  bodies,  so  the 
souls  which  are  removed  into  the  air  after  sub- 
sisting for  some  time  are  transmuted  and 
diffused,  and  assume  a  fiery  nature  by  being  re- 
ceived into  the  seminal  intelligence  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  in  this  way  make  room  for  the  fresh 
souls  which  come  to  dwell  there.  And  this  is 
the  answer  which  a  man  might  give  on  the 
hypothesis  of  souls  continuing  to  exist.  But 
we  must  not  only  think  of  the  number  of 
bodies  which  are  thus  buried,  but  also  of  the 
number  of  animals  which  are  daily  eaten  by  us 
and  the  other  animals.  For  what  a  number  is 
consumed,  and  thus  in  a  manner  buried  in  the 
bodies  of  those  who  feed  on  them!  And  never- 
theless this  earth  receives  them  by  reason  of  the 
changes  [of  these  bodies]  into  blood,  and  the 
transformations  into  the  aerial  or  the  fiery 
element. 

What  is  the  investigation  into  the  truth  in, 
this  matter  ?      The  division   into   that   which 
10 


I46  Cbousbts.  [Book  IV. 

is  material  and  that  which  is  the  cause  of  form 
[the  formal],   (vii.  29.) 

22.  Do  not  be  whirled  about,  but  in  every 
movement  have  respect  to  justice,  and  on  the 
occasion    of   every    impression    maintain    the 
faculty  of  comprehension  [or  understanding]. 

23.  Everything  harmonizes  with  me,  which 
is  harmonious  to  thee,  O  Universe.     Nothing 
for  me  is  too  early  nor  too  late,  which  is  in  due 
time  for  thee.     Everything  is  fruit  to  me  which 
thy  seasons  bring,  O  Nature  :  from  thee  are  all 
things,  in  thee  are  all  things,  to  thee  all  things 
return.     The  poet  says,  Dear  city  of  Cecrops ; 
and  wilt  not  thou  say,  Dear  city  of  Zeus  ? 

24.  Occupy  thyself  with  few  things,  says  the 
philosopher,  if  thou  wouldst  be  tranquil. — But 
consider  if  it  would  not  be  better  to  say,  Do 
what  is  necessary,  and  whatever  the- reason  of 
the  animal  which  is  naturally  social  requires, 
and  as  it  requires.     For  this  brings  not  only 
the  tranquillity  which  comes  from  doing  well, 
but   also   that   which    comes   from    doing    few 
things.     For  the  greatest  part  of  what  we  say 
and  do  being  unnecessary,  if  a  man  takes  this 
away,  he  will  have  more  leisure  and  less  un- 
easiness.    Accordingly,    on    every   occasion    a 
man  should  ask  himself,  Is  this  one  of  the  un- 
necessary   things?     Now   a  man   should    take 
away  not  only  unnecessary  acts,  but  also  un- 
necessary thoughts,   for  thus  superfluous  acts 
will  not  follow  after. 

25.  Try  how  the  life  of  the  good  man  suits 


8ook  IV.]     /fcarcus  Burelfus  Bntonimis.  147 

thee,  the  life  of  him  who  is  satisfied  with  his 
portion  out  of  the  whole,  and  satisfied  with  his 
own  just  acts  and  benevolent  disposition. 

26.  Hast  thou  seen  those  things  ?     Look  also 
at  these.     Do  not  disturb  thyself.     Make  thy- 
self all  simplicity.     Does  any  one  do  wrong? 
It  is  to  himself  that  he  does  the  wrong.     Has 
anything  happened  to  thee?     Well ;  out  of  the 
universe  from  the  beginning  everything  which 
happens  has  been  apportioned  and  spun  out  to 
thee.     In    a   word,    thy    life    is   short.     Thou 
must  turn  to  profit  the  present  by  the  aid  of 
reason   and  justice.     Be  sober  in  thy  relaxa- 
tion. 

27.  Either  it  is  a  well-arranged  universe*  or 
a  chaos  huddled  together,  but  still  a  universe. 
But  can  a  certain  order  subsist  in  thee,  and 
disorder  in  the  All  ?     And  this  too  when  all 
things  are  so  separated  and  diffused  and  sym- 
pathetic. 

28.  A    black   character,    a  womanish   char- 
acter, a  stubborn   character,  bestial,  childish, 
animal,  stupid,  counterfeit,  scurrilous,  fraudu- 
lent, tyrannical. 

29.  If  he  is  a  stranger  to  the  universe  who 
does  not  know  what  is  in  it,  no  less  is  he  a 
stranger  who  does  not  know  what  is  going  on 
in  it.     He  is  a  runaway,  who  flies  from  social 
reason  ;  he  is  blind,  who  shuts  the  eyes  of  uu- 

*  Antoninus  here  uses  the  word  K6a/jof  both  in  the 
sense  of  the  Universe  and  of  Order;  and  it  is  difficult 
to  express  his  meaning. 


148  £bOU0btS.  [Book  IV. 

derstanding  ;  he  is  poor,  who  has  need  of  an- 
other, and  has  not  from  himself  all  things 
which  are  useful  for  life.  He  is  an  abscess  on 
the  universe  who  withdraws  and  separates 
himself  from  the  reason  of  our  common  nature 
through  being  displeased  with  the  things 
which  happen,  for  the  same  nature  produces 
this,  and  has  produced  thee  too :  he  is  a  piece 
rent  asunder  from  the  state,  who  tears  his  own 
soul  from  that  of  reasonable  animals,  which  is 
one. 

30.  The  one  is  a  philosopher  without  a  tunic, 
and  the  other  without  a  book:  here  is  another 
half  naked:    Bread  I  have  not,  he  says,  and  I 
abide  by  reason — and  I  do  not  get  the  means 
of  living  out  of  my  learning,  +  and  I  abide  [by 
my  reason]. 

31.  Love  the  art,  poor  as  it  may  be,  which 
thou  hast  learned,  and  be»  con  tent  with  it;  and 
pass  through  the  rest  of  life  like  one  who  has 
intrusted  to  the  gods  with  his  whole  soul  all 
that  he  has,  making  thyself  neither  the  tyrant 
nor  the  slave  of  any  man. 

32.  Consider,  for  example,  the  times  of  Ves- 
pasian.    Thou  wilt  see  all  these  things,  people 
marrying,  bringing   up  children,   sick,  dying, 
warring,   feasting,   trafficking,   cultivating    the 
ground,  flattering,  obstinately  arrogant,  suspect- 
ing, plotting,  wishing  for  some  to  die,  grumbling 
about   the   present,  loving,  heaping  up   treas- 
ure, desiring  consulship,  kingly  power.     Well, 
then,  that  life  of  these  people  no  longer  exists 


Book  IV.]     /Ifcarcus  Burcltus  Bntcnfnus.          149 

at  all.  Again,  remove  to  the  times  of  Trajan. 
Again,  all  is  the  same.  Their  lite  too  is  gone. 
In  like  manner  view  also  the  other  epochs  of 
time  and  of  whole  nations,  and  see  how  many 
after  great  efforts  soon  fell  and  were  resolved 
into  the  elements.  Hut  chiefly  thou  shouldst 
think  of  those  whom  thou  hast  thyself  known 
distracting  themselves  about  idle  things,  ne- 
glecting to  do  what  was  in  accordance  with  their 
proper  constitution,  and  to  hold  firmly  to  this 
and  to  be  content  with  it.  And  herein  it  is 
necessary  to  remember  that  the  attention  given 
to  everything  has  its  proper  value  and  propor- 
tion. For  thus  thou  wilt  not  be  dissatisfied,  if 
thou  appliest  thyself  to  smaller  matters  no  fur- 
ther than  is  fit. 

33.  The  words  which  were  formerly  familiar 
are  now  antiquated:  so  also  the  names  of  those 
who  were  famed  of  old,  are  now  in  a  manner 
antiquated,  Camillus,  Caeso,  Volesus,  Leon- 
natus,  and  a  little  after  also  Scipio  and  Cato, 
then  Augustus,  then  also  Hadrianus  and  An- 
toninus. For  all  things  soon  pass  away  and  be- 
come a  mere  tale,  and  complete  oblivion  soon 
buries  them.  And  I  say  this  of  those  who  have 
shone  in  a  wondrous  way.  For  the  rest,  as 
soon  as  they  have  breathed  out  their  breath 
they  are  gone,  and  no  man  speaks  of  them. 
And,  to  conclude  the  matter,  what  is  even  an 
eternal  remembrance?  A  mere  nothing.  What 
then  is  that  about  which  we  ought  to  employ 
our  serious  pains?  This  one  thing,  thoughts 


I5o  *IbOU0btS.  [Book  IV. 

just,  and  acts  social,  and  words  which  never 
lie,  and  a  disposition  which  gladly  accepts  all 
that  happens,  as  necessary,  as  usual,  as  flowing 
from  a  principle  and  source  of  the  same  kind. 

34.  Willingly  give  thyself  up  to  Clotho  [one 
of  the  fates],  allowing  her  to  spin  thy  thread + 
into  whatever  things  she  pleases. 

35.  Everything  is  only  for  a  clay,  both  that 
which  remembers  and  that  which  is  remem- 
bered. 

36.  Observe  constantly  that  all  things  take 
place  by  change,  and  accustom  thyself  to  con- 
sider that  the  nature  of  the  universe  loves  noth- 
ing so  much  as  to  change  the  things  which  are 
and   to   make    new   things    like    them.       For 
everything  that  exists  is  in  a  manner  the  seed 
of  that  which  will  be.     But  thou  art  thinking 
only  of  seeds  which  are  cast  into  the  earth  or 
into  a  womb:  but  this  is  a  very  vulgar  notion. 

37.  Thou  wilt  soon  die,  and  thou  art  not  yet 
simple,  nor  free  from  perturbations,  nor  with- 
out suspicion  of  being  hurt  by  external  things, 
nor  kindly  disposed  towards  all:  nor  dost  thou 
yet  place  wisdom  only  in  acting  justly. 

38.  Examine  men's  ruling    principles,   even 
those  of  the  wise,    what  kind  of  things   they 
avoid,  and  what  kind  they  pursue. 

39.  What  is  evil  to  thee  does  not  subsist  in 
the  ruling  principle  of  another;  nor  yet  in  any 
turning  and  mutation  of  thy  corporeal  cover- 
ing.     Where  is  it  then  ?     It  is  in  that  part  of 
thee  in  which  subsists  the  power  of  forming 


Book  IV.]     flfcarcus  Bureltus  Sntoninus.          151 

opinions  about  evils.  Let  this  power  then  not 
form  [such]  opinions,  and  all  is  well.  And  if 
that  which  is  nearest  to  it,  the  poor  body,  is 
cut,  burnt,  filled  with  matter  and  rottenness, 
nevertheless  let  the  part  which  forms  opinions 
about  these  things  be  quiet;  that  is,  let  it 
judge  that  nothing  is  either  bad  or  good  which 
can  happen  equally  to  the  bad  man  and  the 
good.  For  that  which  happens  equally  to  him 
who  lives  contrary  to  nature  and  to  him  who 
lives  according  to  nature,  is  neither  according 
to  nature  nor  contrary  to  nature. 

40.  Constantly  regard  the  universe  as  one 
living   being,    having   one  substance  and  one 
soul;  and  observe  how  all  things  have  reference 
to  one  perception,   the  perception  of  this  one 
living  being;  and  how  all  things  act  with  one 
movement;    and   how   all   things   are    the   co- 
operating  causes   of  all    things   which    exist; 
observe   too   the   continuous   spinning   of   the 
thread  and  the  contexture  of  the  web. 

41.  Thou  art  a  little  soul  bearing  about  a 
corpse,  as  Kpictetus  used  to  say  (i.  c.  19). 

42.  It  is  no  evil  for  things  to  undergo  change, 
and   no  good   for   things  to  subsist  in   conse- 
quence of  change. 

43.  Time   is   like   a   river   made  up   of  the 
events  which  happen,  and  a  violent  stream;  for 
as  soon  as  a  thing  has  been  seen,  it  is  carried 
away,  and  another  comes  iu  its  place,  and  this 
will  be  carried  away  too. 

44.  Everything  which  happens  is  as  familiar 


152  *Tbou0bts.  [Book  IT 

and  well  known  as  the  rose  in  spring  and  the 
fruit  in  summer;  for  such  is  disease,  and  death, 
and  calumny,  and  treachery,  and  whatever  else 
delights  fools  or  vexes  them. 

45.  In  the  series  of  things,  those  which  follow 
are  always  aptly  fitted   to  those   which   have 
gone  before:   for  this  series  is  not  like  a  mere 
enumeration  of  disjointed   things,  which   has 
only  a  necessary  sequence,  but  it  is  a  rational 
connection:   and  as  all  existing  things  are  ar- 
ranged  together  harmoniously,  so  the    things 
which  come  into  existence  exhibit  no  mere  suc- 
cession, but   a  certain   wonderful  relationship 
(vi.  38;  vii.  9:  vii,  75,  note). 

46.  Always  remember  the  saying  of  Hera- 
clitus,   that    the  death   of  earth    is  to  become 
water,  and  the  death  of  water  is  to  become  air, 
and  the  death  of  air  is  to  become  fire,  and  re- 
versely.    And  think  too  of  him  who   forgets 
whither  the  way  leads,  and  that  men  quarrel 
with  that  with  which  they  are  most  constantly 
in  communion,  the  reason  which  governs  the 
universe;  and  the  things  which  they  daily  meet 
witli  seem  to  them  strange:  and  consider  that  we 
ought  not  to  act  and  speak  as  if  we  were  asleep, 
for  even   in   sleep  we  seem   to  act  and    speak; 
and    that  •    we   ought   not,    like   children   who 
learn  from  their  parents,  simply  to  act  and  speak 
as  \ve  have  been  taught.  + 

47.  If  any  god   told  thee  that  thou  shalt  die 
to-inorro\v,  or  certainly  on  the  day  after  to-mor- 
row, thou  wouldst  not  care  much  whether  it 


Book  IV.]     flfcarcus  Hurclius  Bntoninus.          153 

was  on  the  third  day  or  on  the  morrow,  unless 
thou  wast  in  the  highest  degree  mean-spirited; 
lor  how  small  is  the  difference!  So  think  it  no 
great  thing  to  die  after  as  many  years  as  thou 
canst  name  rather  than  to-morrow. 

48.  Think  continually  how  many  physicians 
are  dead  after  often  contracting  their  eyebrows 
over  the  sick;  and  how  many  astrologers  after 
predicting  with  great  pretensions  the  deaths  of 
others;  and  how  many  philosophers  after  end- 
less discourses  on  death  or  immortality;  how 
many  heroes  after  killing  thousands;  and  how 
many  tyrants  who  have  used  their  power  over 
men's  lives  with  terrible  insolence,  as  if  they 
were  immortal;  and  how  many  cities  are  entirely 
dead,  so  to  speak,  Helice*  and  Pompeii  and 
Herculaneum,  and  others  innumerable.  Add  to 
the  reckoning  all  whom  thou  hast  known,  one 
after  another.  One  man  after  burying  another 
has  been  laid  out  dead,  and  another  buries 
him;  and  all  this  in  a  short  time.  To  conclude, 
always  observe  how  ephemeral  and  worthless 
human  things  are,  and  what  was  yesterday  a 
little  mucus,  to-morrow  will  be  a  mummy  or 
ashes.  Pass  then  through  this  little  space  of 
time  conformably  to  nature,  and  end  thy  jour- 
ney in  content,  as  an  olive  falls  off  when  it  is 
ripe,  blessing  nature  who  produced  it,  and 
thanking  the  tree  on  which  it  grew. 

*  Ovid,  Met.  xv.  293:— 

"  Si  quaeras  Heliceu  et  Burin  Achaidas  urbes, 
Jnvenies  sub  aquis." 


154  Gbougbts.  [Book  IV. 

49.  Be  like  the  promontory   against   which 
the  waves  continually  break,  but  it  stands  firm 
and  tames  the  fury  of  the  water  around  it. 

Unhappy  am  I  because  this  has  happened  to 
me?  Not  so,  but  happy  am  I,  though  this  has 
happened  to  me,  because  I  continue  free  from 
pain,  neither  crushed  by  the  present  nor  fear- 
ing the  future.  For  such  a  thing  as  this  might 
have  happened  to  every  man;  but  every  man 
would  not  have  continued  free  from  pain  on 
such  an  occasion.  Why  then  is  that  rather  a 
misfortune  than  this  a  good  fortune  ?  And  dost 
thou  in  all  cases  call  that  a  man's  misfortune 
which  is  not  a  deviation  from  man's  nature? 
And  does  a  thing  seem  to  thee  to  be  a.  deviation 
from  man's  nature,  when  it  is  not  contrary  to 
the  will  of  man's  nature  ?  Well,  thou  knowest 
the  will  of  nature.  Will  then  this  which  has 
happened  prevent  thee  from  being  just,  mag- 
nanimous, temperate,  prudent,  secure  against 
inconsiderate  opinions  and  falsehood;  will  it 
prevent  thee  from  having  modesty,  freedom, 
and  everything  else,  by  the  presence  of  which 
man's  nature  obtains  all  that  is  its  own  ?  Re- 
member too  on  every  occasion  which  leads  thee 
to  vexation  to  apply  this  principle;  not  that 
this  is  a  misfortune,  but  that  to  bear  it  nobly  is 
good  fortune. 

50.  It    is   a   vulgar,    but  still  a  useful  help 
towards  contempt  of  death,   to  pass  in  review 
those   who    have    tenaciously    stuck    to    life. 
What  more  then  have  they  gained  than  those 


Book  IV.]     flfcarcus  aurelius  Sntonfnus.  155 

who  have  died  early  ?  Certainly  they  lie  in 
their  tombs  somewhere  at  last,  Cadicianus, 
Fabius,  Julianus,  Lepidus,  or  any  one  else  like 
them,  who  have  carried  out  many  to  be  buried, 
and  then  were  carried  out  themselves.  Alto- 
gether the  interval  is  small  [between  birth  and 
death]  ;  and  consider  with  how  much  trouble, 
and  in  company  with  what  sort  of  people,  and 
in  what  a  feeble  body,  this  interval  is  labor- 
iously passed.  Do  not  then  consider  life  a 
thing  of  any  value.  4-  For  look  to  the  im- 
mensity of  time  behind  thee,  and  to  the  time 
which  is  before  thee,  another  boundless  space. 
In  this  infinity  then  what  is  the  difference  be- 
tween him  who  lives  three  days  and  him  who 
lives  three  generations  ?* 

51.  Always  run  to  the  short  way;  and  the 
short  way  is  the  natural:  accordingly  say  and 
vio  everything  in  conformity  with  the  soundest 
reason.  For  such  a  purpose  frees  a  man  from 
trouble,  4-  and  warfare,  and  all  artifice  and 
ostentatious  display. 

*  An  allusion  to  Homer's  Nestor,  who  was  living  at 
the  war  of  Troy  among  the  third  generation,  like  old 
Parr  with  his  hundred  and  fifty-two  years,  and  some 
others  in  modern  times  who  have  beaten  Parr  by 
twenty  or  thirty  years  if  it  is  true;  and  yet  they  died 
at  last.  The  word  is  r/>r.  f/);/r/m>  in  Antoninus.  Nestor 
is  named  rpr/epuv  by  some  writers;  but  here  perhaps 
there  is  an  allusion  to  Homer's  Tep^vioc  l~~6ra 


156  Cbougbts.  [BwkV. 


V. 

IN  the  morning  when  thou  risest  unwillingly, 
let  this  thought  be  present, — I  am  rising  to 
the  work  of  a  human  being.  Why  then  am  I 
dissatisfied  if  I  am  going  to  do  the  things  for 
which  I  exist  and  for  which  I  was  brought  into 
the  world  ?  Or  have  I  been  made  for  this,  to 
lie  in  the  bed-clothes  and  keep  myself  warm  ? 
• — But  this  is  more  pleasant. — Dost  thou  exist 
then  to  take  thy  pleasure,  and  not  at  all  for 
action  or  exertion  ?  Dost  thou  not  see  the  little 
plants,  the  little  birds,  the  ants,  the  spiders, 
the  bees  working  together  to  put  in  order  their 
several  parts  of  the  universe  ?  And  art  thou 
unwilling  to  do  the  work  of  a  human  being, 
and  dost  thou  not  make  haste  to  do  that  which 
is  according  to  thy  nature  ?  But  it  is  necessary 
to  take  rest  also. — It  is  necessary.  However, 
Nature  has  fixed  bounds  to  this  too:  she  has 
fixed  bounds  to  eating  and  drinking,  and  yet 
thou  goest  beyond  these  bounds,  beyond  what 
is  sufficient;  yet  in  thy  acts  it  is  not  so,  but 
thou  stoppest  short  of  what  thou  canst  do.  So 
thou  lovest  not  thyself,  for  if  thou  didst,  thou 
wouldst  love  thy  nature  and  her  will.  But 
those  who  love  their  several  arts  exhaust 
themselves  in  working  at  them  unwashed  and 


BookV.]      flfcarcus  BurcUus  Bntonlnus.  157 

without  food;  but  thou  valuest  thy  own  nature 
less  than  the  turner  values  the  turning  art,  or 
the  dancer  the  dancing;  art,  or  the  lover  of 
money  values  his  money,  or  the  vain-glorious 
man  his  little  glory.  And  such  men,  when 
they  have  a  violent  affection  to  a  thing,  choose 
neither  to  eat  nor  to  sleep  rather  than  to  perfect 
the  things  which  they  care  for.  But  are  the 
acts  which  concern  society  more  vile  in  thy 
eyes  and  less  worthy  of  thy  labor? 

2.  How  easy  it  is  to  repel  and  to  wipe  away 
every  impression  which  is  troublesome  or  un- 
suitable,  and  immediately   to  be  in   all   tran- 
quillity. 

3.  Judge  every  word  and  deed  which  are  ac- 
cording to  nature  to  be  fit  for  thee;  and  be  not 
diverted  by  the  bio  me  which  follows  from  any 
people,  nor  by   their  words,   but  if  a  thing  is 
good  to  be  done  or  said,  do  not  consider  it  un- 
worthy of  thee.     For  those  persons  have  their 
peculiar  leading  principle  and  follow  their  pe- 
culiar movement;  which  things  do  not   thou 
regard,  but  go  straight  on,  following  thy  owrn 
nature  and  the  common  nature;  and  the  way 
of  both  is  one. 

4.  I  go  through  the  things  which  happen  ac- 
cording to  nature  until   I  shall   fall  and  rest, 
breathing  out  my  breath  into  that  element  out 
of  which  I  daily  draw  it  in,  and  falling  upon 
that  earth  out  of  which  my  father  collected  the 
seed,  and  my  mother  the  blood,  and  my  nurse 
the  milk;  out  of  which  during  so  many  years 


158  GbOUSbtS.  [BookV. 

I  have  been  supplied  with  food  and  drink; 
which  bears  me  when  I  tread  on  it  and  abuse 
it  for  so  many  purposes. 

5.  Thou    sayest,     Men   cannot    admire   the 
sharpness  of  thy  wits. — Be  it  so  :  but  there  are 
many  other   things  of  which   thou   canst  not 
say,  I  am   not   formed   from   them  by  nature. 
Show  those  qualities  then  which  are  altogether 
in  thy  power,  sincerity,  gravity,  endurance  of 
labor,   aversion  to  pleasure,  contentment  with 
thy  portion  and  with  few  things,  benevolence, 
frankness,  no  love  of  superfluity,  freedom  from 
trifling,  magnanimity.     Dost  thou  not  see  how 
many  qualities  thou  art  immediately  able  to 
exhibit,  in  which  there  is  no  excuse  of  natural 
incapacity  and  unfitness,  and  yet  thou  still  re- 
maiuest  voluntarily   below    the  mark  ?    or  art 
thou  compelled  through  being  defectively  fur- 
nished by  nature  to  murmur,  and  to  be  stingy, 
and  to  flatter,  and  to  find  fault  with  thy  poor 
body,  and   to  try  to  please  men,  and  to  make 
great   display,    and    to  be   so  restless    in    thy 
mind?     Xo,  by   the  gods  ;  but   thou    mightest 
have  been    delivered    from    these   things    long 
ago.      Only   if  in  truth   thou  canst  be  charged 
with  being  rather  slow  and  dull  of  comprehen- 
sion, thou   must  exert  thyself  about  this  also, 
not  neglecting  it  nor  yet  taking  pleasure  in  thy 
dullness. 

6.  One  man,  when  he  has  done  a  service  to 
another,  is  ready  to  set  it  down  to  his  account 
as  a  favor  conferred.     Another  is  not  readv  to 


BookV.]      ddarcus  Hurelfus  Hntontnus. 


do  this,  but  still  in  his  own  mind  he  thinks  of 
the  man  as  his  debtor,  and  he  knows  what  he 
has  done.  A  third  in  a  manner  does  not  even 
know  what  he  has  done,  but  he  is  like  a  vine 
which  has  produced  grapes,  and  seeks  for  no- 
thing more  after  it  has  once  produced  its 
proper  fruit.  As  a  horse  when  he  has  run,  a 
dog  when  he  has  tackled  the  game,  a  bee  when 
it  has  made  the  honey,  so  a  man  when  he  has 
done  a  good  act  does  not  call  out  for  others  to 
come  and  see,  but  he  goes  on  to  another  act, 
as  a  vine  goes  on  to  produce  again  the  grapes 
in  season.  —  Must  a  man  then  be  one  of  these, 
who  in  a  manner  act  thus  without  observing 
it?  —  Yes.  —  But  this  very  thing  is  necessary, 
the  observation  of  what  a  man  is  doing  :  for,  it 
may  be  said,  it  is  characteristic  of  the  social 
animal  to  perceive  that  he  is  working  in  a 
social  manner,  and  indeed  to  wish  that  his 
social  partner  also  should  perceive  it.  —  It  is 
true  that  thou  sayest,  but  thou  dost  not  rightly 
understand  what  is  now  said  :  and  for  this 
reason  thou  wilt  become  one  of  those  of  whom 
I  spoke  before,  for  even  they  are  misled  by  a 
certain  show  of  reason.  But  if  thou  wilt 
choose  to  understand  the  meaning  of  what  is 
said,  do  not  fear  that  for  this  reason  thou  wilt 
omit  any  social  act. 

7.  A  prayer  of  the  Athenians:  Rain,  rain,  O 
dear  Zeus,  down  on  the  ploughed  fields  of  the 
Athenians  and  on  the  plains.  —  In  truth  we 
ought  not  to  pray  at  all,  or  we  ought  to  pray 
in  this  simple  and  noble  fashion. 


r6o  CbOUflbtS.  [BookV. 

8.  Just  as  we  must  understand  when  it  is 
said,  That  Aesculapius  prescribed  to  this  man 
horse-exercise,  or  bathing  in  cold  water,  or  go- 
ing without  shoes,  so  we  must  understand  it 
when  it  is  said,  That  the  nature  of  the  universe 
prescribed  to  this  man  disease,  or  mutilation, 
or  loss,  or  anything  else  of  the  kind.  For  in 
the  first  case  Prescribed  means  something  like 
this:  he  prescribed  this  for  this  man  as  a 
thing  adapted  to  procure  health;  and  in  the 
second  case  it  means.  That  which  happens  *  to 
[or  suits]  every  man  is  fixed  in  a  manner  for 
him  suitably  to  his  destiny.  For  this  is  what 
we  mean  when  we  say  that  things  are  suitable 
to  us,  as  the  workmen  say  of  squared  stones  in 
walls  or  the  pyramids,  that  they  are  suitable, 
when  they  fit  them  to  one  another  in  some  kind 
of  connection.  For  there  is  altogether  one  fit- 
ness [harmony].  And  as  the  universe  is  made 
up  out  of  all  bodies  to  be  such  a  body  as  it  is, 
so  out  of  all  existing  causes  necessity  [destiny! 
is  made  up  to  be  such  a  cause  as  it  is.  And 
even  those  who  are  completely  ignorant  under- 
stand what  I  mean;  for  the)-  say,  It  [necessity, 
destiny]  brought  this  to  such  a  person. — This 
then  was  brought  and  this  was  prescribed  to 
him.  Let  us  then  receive  these  things,  as  well 
as  those  which  Aesculapius  prescribes.  Many 
as  a  matter  of  course  even  among  his  prescrip- 
tions are  disagreeable,  but  we  accept  them  in 

^  In  this  section  there  is  a  play  on  the  meaning  of 


Book  V.]      flfearcus  Burclius  Bntoninus.  161 


the  hope  of  health.  Let  the  perfecting  and 
accomplishment  of  the  things  \vhich  the  com- 
mon nature  judges  to  be  good,  be  judged  by 
thee  to  be  of  the  same  kind  as  thy  health. 
And  so  accept  everything  which  happens,  even 
if  it  seem  disagreeable,  because  it  leads  to  this, 
to  the  health  of  the  universe  and  to  the  pros- 
perity and  felicity  of  Zeus  [the  universe].  For 
he  would  not  have  brought  on  any  man  what 
he  has  brought,  if  it  were  not  useful  for  the 
whole.  Neither  does  the  nature  of  anything, 
whatever  it  may  be,  cause  anything  which  is 
not  suitable  to  that  which  is  directed  by  it. 
For  two  reasons  then  it  is  right  to  be  content 
with  that  which  happens  to  thee;  the  one,  be- 
cause it  was  done  for  thee  and  prescribed  for 
thee,  and  in  a  manner  had  reference  to  thee, 
originally  from  the  most  ancient  causes  spun 
with  thy  destiny;  and  the  other,  because  even 
that  which  comes  severally  to  every  man  is  to 
the  power  which  administers  the  universe  a 
cause  of  felicity  and  perfection,  nay  even  of  its 
very  continuance.  For  the  integrity  of  the 
whole  is  mutilated,  if  thou  cuttest  off  anything 
whatever  from  the  conjunction  and  the  contin- 
uity either  of  the  parts  or  of  the  causes.  And 
thou  dost  cut  off,  as  far  as  it  is  in  thy  power, 
when  thou  art  dissatisfied,  and  in  a  manner 
triest  to  put  anything  out  of  the  way. 

9.   Be   not    disgusted,  nor   discouraged,  nor 
dissatisfied,  if  thou  dost  not  succeed  in  doing 
everything  according  to  right  principles,  but 
n 


i6z  {Fbougbts.  [BookV. 

when  thou  hast  failed,  return  back  again,  and 
be  content  if  the  greater  part  of  what  thou 
doest  is  consistent  with  man's  nature,  and  love 
this  to  which  thou  returnest;  and  do  not  return 
to  philosophy  as  if  she  were  a  master,  but  act 
like  those  who  have  sore  eyes  and  apply  a  bit 
of  sponge  and  egg,  or  as  another  applies  a 
plaster,  or  drenching  with  water.  For  thus 
thou  wilt  not  fail  to  4-  obey  reason,  and  thou 
wilt  repose  in  it.  And  remember  that  philos- 
ophy requires  only  things  which  thy  nature  re- 
quires; but  thou  wouldst  have  something  else 
which  is  not  according  to  nature. — It  may  be 
objected,  Why,  what  is  more  agreeable  than 
this  [which  I  am  doing]  ?  But  is  not  this  the 
very  reason  why  pleasure  deceives  us  ?  And 
consider  if  magnanimity,  freedom,  simplicity, 
equanimity,  piety,  are  not  more  agreeable. 
For  what  is  more  agreeable  than  wisdom  itself, 
when  thou  thinkest  of  the  security  and  the 
happy  course  of  all  things  which  depend  on  the 
faculty  of  understanding  and  knowledge  ? 

10.  Things  are  in  such  a  kind  of  envelop- 
ment that  they  have  seemed  to  philosophers, 
not  a  few  nor  those  common  philosophers,  alto- 
gether unintelligible;  nay  even  to  the  Stoics 
themselves  they  seem  difficult  to  understand. 
And  all  our  assent  is  changeable;  for  where  is 
the  man  who  never  changes?  Carry  thy 
thoughts  then  to  the  objects  themselves,  and 
consider  how  short-lived  they  are  and  worth- 
less, and  that  they  may  be  in  the  possession  of 


BookV.]      /toarcus  Burelius  Bntoninus.          163 

a  filthy  wretch  or  a  whore  or  a  robber.  Then 
turn  to  the  morals  of  those  who  live  with  thee, 
and  it  is  hardly  possible  to  endure  even  the 
most  agreeable  of  them,  to  say  nothing  of  a  man 
being  hardly  able  to  endure  himself.  In  such 
darkness  then  and  dirt,  and  in  so  constant  a 
flux  both  of  substance  and  of  time,  and  of 
motion  and  of  things  moved,  what  there  is 
worth  being  highly  prized,  or  even  an  object 
of  serious  pursuit,  I  cannot  imagine.  But  on 
the  contrary  it  is  a  man's  duty  to  comfort  him- 
self, and  fc>  wait  for  the  natural  dissolution,  and 
not  to  be  vexed  at  the  delay,  but  to  rest  in 
these  principles  only:  the  one,  that  nothing 
will  happen  to  me  which  is  not  conformable  to 
the  nature  of  the  universe;  and  the  other,  that 
it  is  in  my  power  never  to  act  contrary  to  my 
god  and  daemon:  for  there  is  no  man  who  will 
compel  me  to  this. 

11.  About  what  am   I  now  employing  my 
own  soul  ?     On  every  occasion  I  must  ask  my- 
self this  question,  and   inquire,  What  have  I 
now  in  this  part  of  me  which  they  call  the  rul- 
ing principle?  and  whose  soul  have  I  now, — 
that  of  a  child,  or  of  a  young   man,  or  of  a 
feeble  woman,  or  of  a  tyrant,  or  of  a  domestic 
animal,  or  of  a  wild  beast? 

12.  What  kind  of  things  those  are  which  ap- 
pear good  to   the  many,   we  may  learn  even 
from   this.     For  if  any   man  should  conceive 
certain  things  as  being  really  good,   such  as 
prudence,    temperance,   justice,    fortitude,    he 


164  ttbOUflbte.  [BookV. 

would  not  after  having  first  conceived  these 
endure  to  listen  to  anything+  which  should 
not  be  in  harmony  with  what  is  really  good.-r 
But  if  a  man  has  first  conceived  as  good  the 
things  which  appear  to  the  many  to  be  good, 
he  will  listen  and  readily  receive  as  very  appli- 
cable that  which  was  said  by  the  comic  writer. 
-(-Thus  even  the  many  perceive  the  difference. + 
For  were  it  not  so,  this  saying  would  not  offend 
and  would  not  be  rejected  [in  the  first  case], 
while  we  receive  it  when  it  is  said  of  wealth, 
and  of  the  means  which  further  luxury  and 
fame,  as  said  fitly  and  wittily.  Go  on  then 
and  ask  if  we  should  value  and  think  those 
things  to  be  good,  to  which  after  their  first 
conception  in  the  mind  the  words  of  the  comic 
writer  might  be  aptly  applied. — that  he  who 
has  them,  through  pure  abundance  has  not  a 
place  to  ease  himself  in. 

13.  I  am  composed  of  the  formal  and  the 
material ;  and  neither  of  them  will  perish  into 
non-existence,  as  neither  of  them  came  into  ex- 
istence out  of  non-existence.  Kvery  part  of  me 
then  will  be  reduced  by  change  into  some  part 
of  the  universe,  and  that  again  will  change 
into  another  part  of  the  universe,  and  so  on  for- 
ever. And  by  consequence  of  such  a  change  I 
too  exist,  and  those  who  begot  me,  and  so  on 
forever  in  the  other  direction.  For  nothing 
hinders  us  from  saying  so,  even  if  the  universe 
is  administered  according  to  definite  periods 
[of  revolution]. 


BookV.]      flfcarcus  Burelius  Bntontnus.          165 

14.  Reason  and  the  reasoning  art  [philoso- 
phy] are  powers  which  are  sufficient  for  them- 
selves and  for  their  own  works.  They  move 
then  from  a  first  principle  which  is  their  own, 
and  they  make  their  way  to  the  end  which  is 
proposed  to  them  ;  and  this  is  the  reason  why 
such  acts  are  named  Catorthoseis  or  right  acts, 
which  word  signifies  that  they  proceed  by  the 
right  road. 

i  >   None  of  these  things  ought  to  be  called  a 

v'  O  O 

man's,  which  do  not  belong  to  a  man,  as  man. 
They  are  not  required  of  a  man,  nor  does 
man's  nature  promise  them,  nor  are  they  the 
means  of  man's  nature  attaining  its  end. 
Neither  then  does  the  end  of  man  lie  in  these 
things,  nor  yet  that  which  aids  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  end,  and  that  which  aids  to- 
ward this  end  is  that  which  is  good.  Besides, 
if  any  of  these  things  did  belong  to  man,  it 
would  not  be  right  for  a  man  to  despise  them  and 
to  set  himself  against  them  ;  nor  would  a  man 
be  worthy  of  praise  who  showed  that  he  did 
not  want  these  things,  nor  would  he  who 
stinted  himself  in  any  of  them  be  good,  if  in- 
deed these  things  were  good.  But  now  the 
more  of  these  things  a  man  deprives  himself  of, 
or  of  other  things  like  them,  or  even  when  he 
is  deprived  of  any  of  them,  the  more  patiently 
he  endures  the  loss,  just  in  the  same  degree  he 
is  a  better  man. 

16.  Such  as  are  thy  habitual  thoughts,  such 
ftlso  will  be  the  character  of  thy  mind;  for  the 


166  Cbougbts.  [BookV. 

soul  is  dyed  by  the  thoughts.  Dye  it  then 
with  a  continuous  series  of  such  thoughts  as 
these:  for  instance,  that  where  a  man  can  live, 
there  he  can  also  live  well.  But  he  must  live 
in  a  palace;  well  then,  he  can  also  live  well  in 
a  palace.  And  again,  consider  that  for  what- 
ever purpose  each  thing  has  been  constituted, 
for  this  it  has  been  constituted,  and  towards 
this  it  is  carried;  and  its  end  is  in  that  towards 
which  it  is  carried;  and  where  the  end  is,  there 
also  is  the  advantage  and  the  good  of  each 
thing.  Now  the  good  for  the  reasonable  ani- 
mal is  society;  for  that  we  are  made  for  society 
has  been  shown  above.*  Is  it  not  plain  that 
the  inferior  exists  for  the  sake  of  the  superior  ? 
But  the  things  which  have  life  are  superior  to 
those  which  have  not  life,  and  of  those  which 
have  life  the  superior  are  those  which  have 
reason. 

17.  To  seek  what  is  impossible  is  madness: 
and  it  is  impossible  that  the  bad  should  not  do 
something  of  this  kind. 

1 8.  Nothing  happens  to  any  man  which  he 
is  not  formed  by  nature  to  bear.     The  same 
things  happen  to  another,  and  either  because 
he  does  not  see  that  they  have  happened,  or 
because  he  would  show  a  great  spirit,   he  is 
firm  and  remains  unharmed.     It  is  a  shame 
then   that   ignorance   and    conceit   should    be 
stronger  than  wisdom. 

19.  Things  themselves  touch  not  the  soul, 


BookV.]      rtbarcus  Surelius  Zlntontnus.          167 

not  in  the  least  degree;  nor  have  they  ad- 
mission to  the  soul,  nor  can  the}-  turn  or  move 
the  soul:  but  the  soul  turns  and  moves  itself 
alone,  and  whatever  judgments  it  may  think 
proper  to  make,  such  it  makes  for  itself  the 
things  which  present  themselves  to  it. 

20.  In  one  respect  man  is  the  nearest  thing 
to  me,  so  far  as  I  must  do  good  to  men  and  en- 
dure  them.     But   so   far  as  some  men   make 
themselves  obstacles  to  my  proper  acts,  man 
becomes  to  me  one  of  the  things  which  are  in- 
different, no  less  than  the  sun  or  wind  or  a  wild 
beast.     Now  it  is  true  that  these  may  impede 
my  action,  but  they  are  no  impediments  to  my 
affects  and  disposition,  which  have  the  power 
of  acting  conditionally  and  changing:  for  the 
mind  converts  and  changes  every  hindrance  to 
its  activity  into  an  aid;    and  so  that  which  is  a 
hindrance  is  made  a  furtherance  to  an  act;   and 
that  which  is  an  obstacle  on  the  road  helps  us 
on  this  road. 

21.  Reverence  that  which  is  best  in  the  uni- 
verse;   and  this  is  that  which  makes  use  of  all 
things   and   directs   all    things.     And  in  like 
manner  also  reverence  that  which  is  best  in 
thyself;    and  this  is  of  the  same  kind  as  that. 
For  in  thyself  also,  that  which  makes  use  of 
everything  else  is  this,  and  thy  life  is  directed 
by  this. 

22.  That  which  does  no  harm  to  the  state, 
does  no  harm  to  the  citizen.     In  the  case  of 
every  appearance  of  harm  apply  this  rule:  if 


!68  Cbougbts.  [BookV. 

the  state  is  not  harmed  by  this,  neither  am  I 
harmed.  But  if  the  state  is  harmed,  them  must 
not  be  angry  with  him  who  does  harm  to  the 
state.  Show  him  where  his  error  is. 

23.  Often  think  of  the  rapidity  with  which 
things  pass  by  and  disappear,  both  the  things 
which  are  and  the  things  which  are  produced. 
For   substance    is   like  a  river   in  a  continual 
flow,  and  the  activities  of  things  are  in  con- 
stant change,  and  the  causes  work  in  infinite 
varieties;  and  there  is  hardly  anything  which 
stands  still.     And  consider  this  which  is  near 
to  thee,  this  boundless  abyss  of  the  past  and  of 
the  future  in  which  all  things  disappear.     How 
then    is  he  not  a  fool  who  is  puffed  up  with 
such  things  or  plagued  about  them  and  makes 
himself  miserable?  for  they  vex  him  only  fora 
time,  and  a  short  time. 

24.  Think    of  the    universal    substance,    of 
which  thou  hast   a    very   small    portion;    and 
of  universal  time,  of  which  a  short  and  indivis- 
ible interval  has  been  assigned  to  thee;  and  of 
that  which  is  fixed  by  destiny,  and  how  small 
a  part  of  it  thou  art. 

25.  Does  another  do  me  wrong?     Let   him 
look   to  it.      He  has    his  own  disposition,   his 
own  activity.     I  now  have  what  the  universal 
nature  now  wills  me  to  have;  and  I  do  what 
my  nature  now  wills  me  to  do. 

26.  Let  the  part  of  thy  soul  which  leads  and 
governs  be  undisturbed  by  the  movements  in 
the  flesh,  whether  of  pleasure  or  of  pain;  and 


Book  V.]      /fcarcus  Zlurclfus  Bntontnus. 


let  it  not  unite  with  them,  but  let  it  circum- 
scribe itself  and  limit  those  affects  to  their 
parts.  But  when  these  affects  rise  up  to  the 
mind  by  virtue  of  that  other  sympathy  that 
naturally  exists  iu  a  body  which  is  all  one, 
then  thou  must  not  strive  to  resist  the  sensa- 
tion, for  it  is  natural:  but  let  not  the  ruling  part 
of  itself  add  to  the  sensation  the  opinion  that 
it  is  either  good  or  bad. 

27.  Live  with  the  gods.     And  he  does  live 
with  the  gods  who  constantly  shows  to  them 
that  his  own  soul  is  satisfied  with  that  which 
is  assigned  to  him,  and  that  it  does  all  that  the 
daemon    wishes,   which    Zeus   hath    given    to 
every  man  for  his  guardian  and  guide,  a  portion 
of  himself.     And   this  is  ever}-  man's  under- 
standing and  reason. 

28.  Art  thou  angry  with  him  whose  armpits 
stink  ?  art  thou  angry  with  him  whose  mouth 
smells  foul  ?     What  good  will   this  anger  do 
thee  ?     He  has  such  a  mouth,  he  has  such  arm- 
pits:   it  is  necessary  that  such  an  emanation 
must  come  from  such  things:  but  the  man  has 
reason,   it  will  be  said,   and  he  is  able,   if  he 
takes  pains,  to  discover  wherein  he  offends;  I 
wish  thee  well  of  thy  discovery.     Well  then, 
and  thou  hast  reason:  by  thy  rational  faculty 
stir  up  his  rational  faculty;  show  him  his  error, 
admonish  him.     For  if  he  listens,  thou  wilt 
cure   him,   and    there    is    no   need   of    anger. 
[+  Neither  tragic  actor  nor  whore.  +]* 

*This  is  imperfect  or   corrupt,  or  both.     There  is 


i7o  Cbougbtg.  [BookV. 

29.  As  thou  intendest  to  live  when  them  art 
gone  out,  .    .    .  so  it  is  in  thy  power  to   live 
here.     But  if  men  do  not  permit  thee,  then  get 
away  out  of  life,  yet  so  as  if  thou  wert  suffering 
no  harm.     The  house  is  smoky,  and  I  quit  it.:|: 
Why  dost  thou  think  that  this  is  any  trouble  ? 
But  so  long  as  nothing  of  the  kind  drives  me 
out,  I  remain,  am  free,  and  no  man  shall  hin- 
der me  from  doing  what  I  choose;  and  I  choose 
to  do  what  is  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
rational  and  social  animal. 

30.  The  intelligence  of  the  universe  is  social. 
Accordingly  it  has  made  the  inferior  things  for 
the  sake  of  the  superior,  and  it  has  fitted  the 
superior  to  one  another.     Thou  seest   how  it 
has  subordinated,  co-ordinated,  and  assigned  to 
everything  its  proper  portion,  and  has  brought 
together   into  concord   with   one  another   the 
things  which  are  the  best. 

31.  How  hast  thou  behaved  hitherto  to  the 
gods,  thy  parents,  brethren,  children,  teachers, 
to  those  who  looked  after  thy  infancy,  to  thy 
friends,  kinsfolk,  to  thy  slaves?     Consider  if 
thou  hast  hitherto  behaved  to  all  in  such  a  way 
that  this  may  be  said  of  thee, — 

"Never  has  wronged  a  man  in  deed  or  word." 

also  something  wrong  or  incomplete  in  the  beginning 
of  S.  29,  where  he  says  <jf  i-^eMuv  (yv  rfmro-//,  which 
Gataker  translates  "  as  if  thou  wast  about  to  quit 
life;"  but  we  cannot  translate  EgeMuv  in  that  way. 
Other  translations  are  not  much  more  satisfactory.  I 
have  translated  it  literally  and  left  it  imperfect. 

*  Epictetus,  i.  25,  18. 


BookV.]      dfcarcue  Burelfus  Bntontnutj.  171 

And  call  to  recollection  both  how  many  things 
them  hast  passed  through,  and  how  many 
things  thou  hast  been  able  to  endure,  and  that 
the  history  of  thy  life  is  now  complete  and  thy 
service  is  ended;  and  how  many  beautiful 
things  thou  hast  seen;  and  how  many  pleasures 
and  pains  thou  hast  despised;  and  how  many 
things  called  honorable  thou  hast  spurned; 
and  to  how  many  ill-minded  folks  thou  hast 
shown  a  kind  disposition. 

32.  Why  do  unskilled  ;>nd   ignorant   souls 
disturb  him   who    has   skill    <n-nd    knowledge? 
What    soul   then    has   skill    and    knowledge? 
That   which   knows   beginning  and  end,   and 
knows  the  reason  which  pervades  all  substance, 
and  though  all  time  by  fixed  periods  [revolu- 
tions] administers  the  universe. 

33.  Soon,  very  soon,  thou  wilt  be  ashes,  or 
a  skeleton,  and   either  a  name  or  not  even  a 
name  ;  but  name  is  sound  and  echo.     And  the 
things  which  ore  much  valued  in  life  are  empty 
and  rotten  and  trifling,  and   [like]  little  dogs 
biting  one  another,  and  little  children  quarrel- 
ing, laughing,  and  then  straightway  weeping. 
But  fidelity  and  modesty  and  justice  and  truth 
are  fled 

Up  to  Olympus  from  thr  wide-spread  earth. 

HKSIOD,  Works,  etc.  v.  197. 

What  then  is  there  which  still  detains  thee 
here,  if  the  objects  of  sense  are  easily  changed 
and  never  stand  still,  and  the  organs  of  per- 


1 72  ftbougbts.  [BookY. 

ception  are  dull  and  easily  receive  false  im- 
pressions, and  the  poor  soul  itself  is  an  exha- 
lation from  blood?  But  to  have  good  repute 
amid  such  a  world  as  this  is  an  empty  thing. 
Why  then  dost  thou  not  wait  in  tranquillity 
for  thy  end,  whether  it  is  extinction  or  removal 
to  another  state?  And  until  that  time  comes, 
what  is  sufficient?  Why,  what  else  than  to 
venerate  the  gods  and  bless  them,  and  to  do 
good  to  men,  and  to  practise  tolerance  and 
self-restraint  ;*  but  as  to  everything  which  is 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  poor  flesh  and  breath, 
to  remember  that  this  is  neither  thine  nor  in 
thy  power. 

34.  Thou  canst  pass  tin-  life  in  an  equable 
flow  of  happiness,  if  thou  canst  go  by  the  right 
way,   and    think    and    act   in    the   right  way. 
These  two  things  are  common  both  to  the  soul 
of  God  and  to  the  soul  of  man,  and  to  the  soul 
of  every  rational  being:  not  to  be  hindered  by 
another;  and   to  hold   good  to  consist  in  the 
disposition   to  justice  and  the  practice  of  it, 
and  in  this  to  let  thy  desire  find  its  termina- 
tion. 

35.  If  this  is  neither  my  own  badness,  nor 
an  effect  of  my  own  badness,  and  the  common 
weal  is  not  injured,  why  am  I  troubled  about 
it,  and  what  is  the  harm  to  the  common  weal? 

*This  is  the  Stoic  precept  ave^ov  urii  a-f-^nv.  The 
first  part  teaches  us  to  be  content  with  men  and  things 
as  they  are.  The  second  part  teaches  us  the  virtue  of 
self  restraint,  or  the  government  of  our  passions. 


Book  v.]     fl&arcus  Surelfus  Sntonfnu0.          173 

36.  Do  not  be  carried  along  inconsiderately 
by  the  appearance  of  things,  but  give  help  [to 
all]  according  to  thy  ability  and  their  fitness; 
ami  if  they  should  have  sustained  loss  in  mat- 
ters which  are  indifferent,  do  not  imagine  this 
to  be  a  damage;  for  it  is  a  bad  habit.  But  as 
the  old  man,  when  he  went  away,  asked  back 
his  foster-child's  top,  remembering  that  it  was 
a  top,  so  do  them  in  this  case  also. 

When  thou  art  calling  out  on  the  Rostra, 
hast  thou  forgotten,  man,  what  these  things 
are? — Yes;  but  they  are  objects  of  great  con- 
cern to  these  people — wilt  thou  too  then  be 
made  a  fool  for  these  things?  I  was  once  a 
fortunate  man,  but  I  lo^t  it,  I  know  not  how.— 
But  fortunate  means  that  a  man  has  assigned 
to  himself  a  good  fortune:  and  a  good  fortune 
is  good  disposition  of  the  soul,  good  emotions, 
good  actions.* 

*This  section  is  unintelligible.  Many  of  the  words 
may  be  corrupt,  and  the  general  purport  of  the  section 
cannot  be  discovered.  Perhaps  several  things  have 
been  improperly  joined  in  one  section.  1  have  trans- 
lated it  nearlv  literally.  Different  translators  give 
the  section  a  different  turn,  and  the  critics  have  tried 
to  mend  what  they  cannot  understand. 


174  Gbougbte.  [Book  VI. 


VI. 

HPHE  substance  of  the  universe  is  obedient 
1  and  compliant;  and  the  reason  which 
governs  it  has  in  itself  no  cause  for  doing  evil, 
for  it  has  no  malice,  nor  does  it  do  evil  to  any- 
thing, nor  is  anything  harmed  by  it.  But  all 
things  are  made  and  perfected  according  to  this 
reason. 

2.  Let  it  make  no  difference  to  thee  whether 
thou  art  cold  or  warm,  if  thou  art  doing  thy 
duty;  and  whether  thou  art  drowsy  or  satis- 
fied with  sleep;  and  whether  ill-spoken  of  or 
praised;  and  whether  dying   or   doing   some- 
thing else.     For  it  is  one  of  the  acts  of  life, 
this  act  by  which  we  die;  it  is  sufficient  then 
in  this  act  also  to  do  well  what  we  have  in 
hand  (vi.  22,  28). 

3.  Look  within.     Let  neither  the   peculiar 
quality  of  anything  nor  its  value  escape  thee. 

4.  All   existing   things    soon   change,     and 
they  will  either  be  reduced  to  vapor,  if  indeed 
all  substance  is  one,  or  they  will  be  dispersed. 

5.  The  reason   which  governs  knows  what 
its  own  disposition  is,  and  what  it  does,  and 
on  what  material  it  works. 

6.  The  best  way  of  avenging  thyself  is  not 
to  become  like  [the  wrrong-doer]. 


Book  VI.]     fl&arcus  Hurclius  Bntonfnus.  175 

7.  Take  pleasure  in  one  thing  and  rest  in  it, 
in  passing  from  one  social  act  to  another  social 
act,  thinking  of  God. 

8.  The  ruling  principle  is  that  which  rouses 
and  turns  itself,  and  while  it  makes  itself  such 
as  it  is  and  such  as  it  wills  to  be,  it  also  makes 
everything  which  happens  appear  to  itself  to 
be  such  as  it  wills. 

9.  In  conformity  to  the  nature  of  the  uni- 
verse every  single  thing  is  accomplished;  for 
certainly  it  is   not  in  conformity  to  any  other 
nature  that  each  thing  is  accomplished,  either 
a  nature  which  externally  comprehends  this,  or 
a  nature  which  is  comprehended   within  this 
nature,  or  a  nature  external  and  independent 
of  this  (xi.  i;  vi.  40;  viii.  50). 

10.  The  universe  is  either  a  confusion,   and 
a  mutual  involution  of  things,  and  a  dispersion, 
or  it  is  unity  and  order  and  providence.     If 
then  it  is  the  former,  why  do  I  desire  to  tarry 
in  a  fortuitous  combination  of  things  and  such 
a  disorder  ?  and  why  do  I  care  about  am-thing 
else   than   how   I  shall  at  last  become  earth  ? 
and  why  am  I  disturbed,  for  the  dispersion  of 
my  elements  will  happen  whatever  I  do  ?     But 
if  the  other  supposition  is  true,  I  venerate,  and 
I  am   firm,    and  I   trust  in  him  who  governs 
(iv.  27). 

11.  When  thou  hast  been  compelled  by  cir- 
cumstances   to    be    disturbed    in    a    manner, 
quickly  return  to  thyself,  and  do  not  continue 
out  of  tune  longer  than  the  compulsion  lasts; 


176  GbOUflbtS.  [Book  VI, 

for  thou  wilt  have  more  mastery  over  the  har- 
mony by  continually  recurring  to  it. 

12.  If  thou  hadst  a  step-mother  and  a  mother 
at  the  same  time,  thou  wouklst  be  dutiful  to 
thy  step-mother,   but  still  thou  wouklst  con- 
stantly return  to  thy  mother.     Let  the  court 
and  philosophy  now  be  to  thee  step-mother  and 
mother:  return   to   philosophy  frequently  and 
repose  in  her,  through  whom  what  thou  meet- 
est  with  in  the  court  appears  to  thee  tolerable, 
and  thou  appearest  tolerable  in  the  court. 

13.  When  \ve  have  meat  before  us  and  such 
eatables,  we  receive  the  impression  that  this  is 
the  dead  body  of  a  fish,  and  this  the  dead  body 
of  a  bird  or  of  a  pig;  and  again,  that  this  Faler- 
uian  is  only  a  little  grape-juice,  and  this  purple 
robe  some  sheep's  wool  dyed  with  the  blood  of 
a  shell-fish:  such  then  are  these  impressions, 
and  they  reach  the  things  themselves  and  pene- 
trate them,  and  so  we  see  what  kind  of  things 
they  are.     Just  in  the  same  way  ought  we  to 
act  all  through  life,  and  where  there  are  things 
which  appear  most  worthy  of  our  approbation, 
we  ought  to  lay  them  bare  and  look  at  their 
worth lessness  and  strip  them  of  all  the  words 
by  which  they  are  exalted.     For  outward  show 
is    a  wonderful    perverter  of  the   reason,   and 
when   thou   art  most    sure  that  thou   art  em- 
ployed about  things  worth  thy  pains,  it  is  then 
that  it  cheats  thee  most.     Consider  then  what 
Crates  says  of  Xenocrates  himself. 

14.  Most  of  the  things  which  the  multitude 


Book  VI.]     flfearcus  Burclius  Bntoninus.          177 

admire  are  referred  to  objects  of  the  most  gen- 
eral kind,  those  which  are  held  together  by 
cohesion  or  natural  organization,  such  as 
.stones,  wood,  fig-trees,  vines,  olives.  But 
those  which  are  admired  by  men,  who  are  a 
little  more  reasonable,  are  referred  to  the  things 
which  are  held  together  by  a  living  principle, 
as  flocks,  herds.  Those  which  are  admired  by 
men  who  are  still  more  instructed  are  the 
things  which  are  held  together  by  a  rational 
soul,  not  however  a  universal  soul,  but  rational 
so  far  as  it  is  a  soul  skilled  in  some  art,  or  ex- 
pert in  some  other  way,  or  simply  rational  so 
far  as  it  possesses  a  number  of  slaves.  But  he 
who  values  a  rational  soul,  a  soul  universal  and 
fitted  for  political  life,  regards  nothing  else  ex- 
cept this;  and  above  all  things  he  keeps  his 
soul  in  a  condition  and  in  an  activity  conform- 
able to  reason  and  social  life,  and  he  co-oper- 
ates to  this  end  with  those  who  are  of  the  same 
kind  as  himself. 

15.  Some  things  are  hurrying  into  existence, 
and  others  are  hurrying  out  of  it;  and  of  that 
which  is  coming  into  existence  part  is  already 
extinguished.  Motions  and  changes  are  con- 
tinually renewing  the  world,  just  as  the  unin- 
terrupted course  of  time  is  always  renewing 
the  infinite  duration  of  ages.  In  this  flowing 
stream  then,  on  which  there  is  no  abiding, 
what  is  there  of  the  things  which  hurry  by  on 
which  a  man  would  set  a  high  price?  It 
would  be  just  as  if  a  man  should  fall  in  love 
12 


178  ITbOUgbtS.  [Book  VI. 

with  one  of  the  sparrows  which  fly  by,  but  it 
has  already  passed  out  of  sight.  Something 
of  this  kind  is  the  very  life  of  every  man,  like 
the  exhalation  of  the  blood  and  the  respiration 
of  the  air.  For  such  as  it  is  to  have  once 
drawn  in  the  air  and  to  have  given  it  back, 
which  we  do  every  moment,  just  the  same  is  it 
with  the  whole  respiratory  power,  which  thou 
didst  receive  at  thy  birth  yesterday  and  the 
day  before,  to  give  it  back  to  the  element  from 
which  thou  didst  first  draw  it. 

16.  Neither  is  transpiration,  as  in  plants,  a 
thing  to  be  valued,  nor  respiration,  as  in 
domesticated  animals  and  wild  beasts,  nor  -he 
receiving  of  impressions  by  the  appearance.1:  of 
things,  nor  being  moved  by  desires  as  puppets 
by  strings,  nor  assembling  in  herds,  nor  being 
nourished  by  food  ;  for  this  is  just  like  the  act 
of  separating  and  parting  with  the  useless  part 
of  our  food.  What  then  is  worth  being  valued  ? 
To  be  received  with  clapping  of  hands?  Xo. 
Neither  must  we  value  the  clapping  of  tongues ; 
for  the  praise  which  comes  from  the  many  is  a 
clapping  of  tongues.  Suppose  then  that  thou 
hast  given  up  this  worthless  thing  called  fame, 
wyhat  remains  that  is  worth  valuing?  This,  in 
my  opinion  :  to  move  thyself  and  to  restrain 
thyself  in  conformity  to  thy  proper  constitu- 
tion, to  which  end  both  all  employments  and 
arts  lead.  For  every  art  aims  at  this,  that  t>\e 
thing  which  has  been  made  should  be  adapted 
to  the  work  for  which  it  has  been  made ;  aiid 


Book  VI.]     Marcus  Burclius  Antoninus. 


both  the  vine-planter  who  looks  after  the  vine, 
and  the  horse-breaker,  and  he  who  trains  the 
dog,  seek  this  end.  But  the  education  and  the 
teaching  of  youth  aim  at  something.  In  thif 
then  is  the  value  of  the  education  and  the 
teaching.  And  if  this  is  well,  thou  wilt  not 
seek  anything  else.  Wilt  thou  not  cease  tcr 
value  many  other  things  too?  Then  thou  wilt 
be  neither  free,  nor  sufficient  for  thy  own  hap- 
piness, nor  without  passion.  For  of  necessity 
thou  must  be  envious,  jealous,  and  suspicious 
of  those  who  can  take  away  those  things,*  and 
plot  against  those  who  have  that  which  is 
valued  by  thee.  Of  necessity  a  man  must  be 
altogether  in  a  state  of  perturbation  who  wants 
any  of  these  things  ;  and  besides,  he  must  often 
find  fault  with  the  gods.  But  to  reverence 
and  honor  thy  own  mind  will  make  thee  con- 
tent with  thyself,  and  in  harmony  with  society, 
and  in  agreement  with  the  gods,  that  is,  prais- 
ing all  that  the)*  give  and  have  ordered. 

17.  Above,  below,  all  around  are  the  move- 
ments of  the  elements.  But  the  motion  of 
virtue  is  in  none  of  these  :  it  is  something 
more  divine,  and  advancing  by  a  way  hardly 
observed,  it  goes  happily  on  its  road. 

1  8.  How  strangely  men  act  !  They  will  not 
praise  those  who  are  living  at  the  same  time 
and  living  with  themselves  ;  but  to  be  them- 
selves praised  by  posterity,  by  those  whom 
they  have  never  seen  nor  ever  will  see,  this  they 
set  much  value  on.  But  this  is  very  much  the 


i8o  Cbougbts. 


same  as  if  them  shouldst  be  grieved  because 
those  who  have  lived  before  thee  did  not  praise 
thee. 

19.  If  a  thing  is  difficult  to  be  accomplished 
by  thyself,  do  not  think  that  it  is  impossible 
for  man  :  but  if  anything  is  possible  for  man 
and  conformable  to  hfc  nature,  think  that  this 
can  be  attained  by  thyself  too. 

20.  In  the  gymnastic  exercises  suppose  that 
a  man  has  torn  thee  with  his  nails,  and  by 
dashing  against  thy  head  has  inflicted  a  wound. 
Well,  we  neither  show  any  signs  of  vexation, 
nor  are  we  offended,  nor  do  we  suspect  him 
afterwards  as  a  treacherous  fellow;  and  yet  we 
are  on  our  guard  against  him,  not  however  as 
an   enemy,    nor   yet   with   suspicion,    but   we 
quietly  get  out  of  his  way.     Something  like 
this  let  thy  l>ehavior  be  in  all  the  other  parts 
of  life  ;   let  us  overlook  many  things  in  those 
who  are  like  antagonists  in  the  gymnasium. 
For  it  is  in  our  power,  as  I  said,  to  get  out  of 
the  way,  and  to  have  no  suspicion  nor  hatred. 

21.  If  any  man  is  able  to  convince  me  and 
show  me   that  I  do  not  think  cr  act  right,  I 
will  gladly  change;  for  I  seek  the  truth,  by 
which   no  man  was  ever  injured.     But  he  is 
injured  who  abides  in  his  error  and  ignorance. 

22.  I  do  my  duty  :  other  things  trouble  me 
not  ;  for  they  are  either  things  without  life,  or 
things  without   reason,   or  things   that   have 
rambled  and  know  not  the  way. 

23.  As  to  the  animals  which  have  no  reason, 


Book  VI.]     /fcarcus  Hurcliue  Bntonfnus.  181 


and  generally  all  things  and  objects,  do  thou, 
sinc^  thou  hast  reason  and  they  have  none, 
make  use  of  them  with  a  generous  and  liberal 
spirit.  But  towards  human  beings,  as  they 
have  reason,  behave  in  a  social  spirit.  And 
on  all  occasions  call  on  the  gods,  and  do  not 
perplex  thyself  about  the  length  of  time  in 
which  thou  shall  do  this  ;  for  even  three  hours 
so  spent  are  sufficient. 

24.  Alexander  the  Macedonian  and  his  groom 
by  death  were  brought  to  the  same  state  ;   for 
either    they    were    received    among    the   same 
seminal  principles  of  the  universe,  or  they  were 
alike  dispersed  among  the  atoms. 

25.  Consider  how  many  things  in  the  same 
indivisible  time  take   place  in   each   of  us, — 
things    which    concern    the    body    and    things 
which  concern  the  soul  :  and  so  thou  wilt  not 
wonder    if  many    more    things,    or    rather    all 
things  which  come  into  existence  in  that  which 
is  the  one  and  all,  which  we  call  Cosmos,  exist 
in  it  at  the  same  time. 

26.  If  any  man  should   propose  to  thee  the 
question,  how  the  name  Antoninus  is  written, 
wouldst  thou  with  a  straining  of  the  voice  utter 
each  letter?     What  then  if  they  grow  angry, 
wilt  thou  be  angry  too?     Wilt  thou  not  go  on 
with  composure  and  number  every  letter?    Just 
so  then  in   this  life  also  remember  that  every 
duty  is  made  up  of  certain  parts.     These  it  is 
thy  duty  to  observe,   and  without  being  dis- 
turbed or  showing  anger  towards  those  who 


182  CbOUflbtS.  [Book  VL 

ere  angry  with  thee,  to  go  on  thy  way  and  fin- 
ish that  which  is  set  before  thee. 

27.  How  cruel  it  is  not  to  allow  men  to  strive 
After  the  things  which  appear  to  them  to  be 
suitable  to  their  nature  and  profitable!     And 
yet  in  a  manner  thou  dost  not  allow  them  to  do 
this,    when    thou  art  vexed    because   they   do 
wrong.     For  they  are  certainly  moved  towards 
things  because  they  suppose  them  to  be  suit* 
able  to  their  nature  and  profitable  to  them. 
But  it  is  not  so.     Teach  them  then,  and  show 
them  without  being  angry. 

28.  Death  is  a  cessation  of  the  impressions 
through  the  senses,  and  of  the  pulling  of  the 
strings  which  move  the  appetites,  and  of  the 
discursive  movements  of  the  thoughts,  and  of 
the  service  to  the  flesh  (ii.  12). 

29.  It  is  a  shame  for  the  soul  to  be  first  to 
give  way  in  this  life,  when  thy  body  does  not 
give  way. 

30.  Take  care  that  thou  art  not  made  into  a 
Caesar,  that  thou  art  not  dyed  with  this  dye; 
for  such   things  happen.     Keep   thyself  then 
simple,  good,  pure,   serious,  free  from  affecta- 
tion, a  friend   of  justice,  a  worshipper  of  the 
gods,  kind,  affectionate,  strenuous  in  all  proper 
acts.     Strive  to  continue  to  be  such  as  philoso- 
phy wished  to  make  thee.     Reverence  the  gods, 
and  help  men.     Short  is  life.     There  is  only 
one  fruit  of  this  terrene  life — a  pious  disposi- 
tion and  social  acts.     Do  everything  as  a  dis- 
ciple of  Antoninus.     Remember  his  constancy 


Book  VI.]     /fcarcus  Hurcltus  Hntontnus.  183 

in  every  act  which  was  conformable  to  reason, 
and  his  evenness  in  all  things,  and  his  piety, 
and  the  serenity  of  his  countenance,  and  his 
sweetness,  and  his  disregard  of  empty  fame, 
and  his  efforts  to  understand  things;  and  how 
he  would  never  let  anything  pass  without  hav- 
ing first  most  carefully  examined  it  and  clearly 
understood  it;  and  how  he  bore  with  those  who 
blamed  him  unjustly  without  blaming  them  in 
return:  how  he  did  nothing  in  a  hurry;  and 
how  he  listened  not  to  calumnies,  and  how  ex- 
act an  examiner  of  manners  and  actions  he  was; 
and  not  given  to  reproach  people,  nor  timid, 
nor  suspicious,  nor  a  sophist;  and  with  how 
little  he  was  satisfied,  such  as  lodging,  bed, 
dress,  food,  servants;  and  how  laborious  and 
patient;  and  how  he  was  able  on  account  of 
his  sparing  diet  to  hold  out  to  the  evening,  not 
even  requiring  to  relieve  himself  by  any  evacu- 
ations except  at  the  usual  hour;  and  his  firm- 
ness and  uniformity  in  his  friendships;  and  how 
he  tolerated  freedom  of  speech  in  those  who 
opposed  his  opinions;  and  the  pleasure  that  he 
had  when  any  man  showed  him  anything  bet- 
ter; and  how  religious  he  was  without  super- 
stition. Imitate  all  this,  that  thou  mayest 
have  as  good  a  conscience,  when  thy  last  houf 
comes,  as  he  had  (i.  16). 

31.  Return  to  thy  sober  senses  and  call  thy- 
self back;  and  when  thou  hast  roused  thyself 
from  sleep  and  hast  perceived  that  they  were 
only  dreams  which  troubled  thee,  now  in  thy 


X84  CbOUflbtS.  [Book  VL 

waking  hours  look  at  these  [the  things  about 
thee]  as  thou  didst  look  at  those  [the  dreams]. 

32.  I  consist  of  a  little  body  and    a   soul. 
Now  to  this  little  body  all  things  are  indiffer- 
ent,  for  it  is  not  able  to  perceive  differences. 
But  to  the  understanding  those  things  only  are 
indifferent  which  are  not  the  works  of  its  own 
activity.     But  whatever  things  are  the  works 
of  its  own  activity,  all  these  are  in  its  power. 
And  of  these  however  only  those  which  are 
done  with  reference  to   the  present;  for  as  to 
the  future  and  the  past  activities  of  the  mind, 
even  these  are  for  the  present  indifferent. 

33.  Neither  the  labor  which  the  hand  does 
nor  that  of  the  foot  is  contrary  to  nature,  so 
long  as  the  foot  does  the  foot's  work  and  the 
hand  the  hand's.     So  then  neither  to  a  man  as 
a  man  is  his  labor  contrary  to  nature,  so  long 
as  it  does  the  things  of  a  man.     But  if  the 
tabor  is  not  contrary  to  his  nature,  neither  is  it 
nil  evil  to  him. 

34.  How   many    pleasures   have    been    en- 
joyed by  robbers,  patricides,  tyrants. 

35.  Dost  thou  not  see  how  the  handicrafts- 
men accommodate  themselves  up  to  a  certain 
point   to   those   who  are  not  skilled   in  their 
craft — nevertheless   they   cling  to    the    reason 
[the  principles]  of  their  art,  and  do  not  endure 
to  depart   from   it  ?     Is  it  not  strange  if  the 
circhitect  and  the  physician  shall  have  more  re- 
spect   to    the  reason   [the  principles]  of  their 
own  arts  than  man  to  his  own  reason,  which  is 
common  to  him  and  the  gods  ? 


Book  VI.]     /iBarcus  Hurclius  Bntcminus.  185 

36.  Asia,    Kurope,    are  corners  of  the    uni- 
verse; all    the   sea   a    drop    in    the    universe; 
Atlios   a   little    clod   of  the   universe:  all    the 
present  time  is  a  point  in  eternity.     All  things 
are  little,   changeable,  perishable.      All   things 
come   from    thence,  from  that   universal  ruling 
power,  either  directly  proceeding  or  by  \vay  of 
sequence.      And  accordingly  the  lion's  gaping 
jaws,  and  that  which  is  poisonous,  and  ever}- 
harmful  thing,  as  a  thorn,  as  mud,  are   after- 
products  of  the  grand  and  beautiful.     Do  not 
then  imagine   that  they   are  of  another  kind 
from  that  which  them  dost  venerate,  but  form 
a  just  opinion  of  the  source  of  all  tvii.  75). 

37.  He    who    has   seen    present    things   has 
seen    all,    both   everything    which    has    taken 
place  from  all  eternity  and  everything  which 
will  be  for  time  without  end;  for  all  things  are 
of  one  kin  and  of  one  form. 

38.  Frequently  consider  the  connection  of  all 
things  in  the  universe  and  their  relation  to  one 
another.     For  in  a  manner  all  things  are  im- 
plicated with  one  another,  and  all  in  this  way 
are    friendly    to   one    another;     for   one    thing 
comes  in   order  after   another,    and  this  is  by 
virtue  of  the  +  active  movement  and  mutual 
conspiration  and  the  unity  of  the   substance 
(ix.  i). 

39.  Adapt  thyself  to  the  things  with  which 
thy  lot  has  been  cast:    and    the  men  among 
whom    thou   hast   received    thy   portion,  love 
them,  but  do  it  truly  [sincerely]. 


1 86  {Tbougbts.  [Book  VI 

40.  Every  instrument,  tool,  vessel,  if  it  does 
that  for  which  it  has  been  made,  is  well,  and 
yet  he  who  made  it  is  not  there.     But  in  the 
things  which  are  held  together  by  nature  there 
is  within,  and  there  abides  in  them  the  power 

.which  made  them;  wherefore  the  more  is  it  fat 
to  reverence  this  power,  and  to  think,  that,  if 
thou  dost  live  and  act  according  to  its  will, 
everything  in  thee  is  in  conformity  to  intelli- 
gence. And  thus  also  in  the  universe  the 
things  which  belong  to  it  are  in  conformity  to 
intelligence. 

41.  Whatever  of  the  things  which  are  not 
within   thy   power   thou   shalt  suppose  to  be 
good  for  thee  or  evil,  it  must  of  necessity  be 
that,  if  such  a  bad  thing  befall  thee,  or  the  loss 
of  such  a  good  thing,  thou  wilt  not  blame  the 
gods,  and  hate  men  too,  those  who  are  the  cause 
of  the  misfortune  or  the  loss,  or  those  who  are 
suspected  of  being  likely  to  be  the  cause;  and 
indeed  we  do  much  injustice  because  we  make 
a  difference  between  these  things  [because  we 
do  not  regard  these  things  as  indifferent  +].* 
But  if  we  judge  only  those  things  which  are  in 
our  power  to  be  good  or  bad,  there  remains  no 
reason  either  for   finding   fault   with    God   or 
standing  in  a  hostile  attitude  to  man.f 

*  Gataker  translates  this  "because  %ve  strive  to  get 
these  things,"  comparing  the  use  of  AiaotpEaOat  in  v.  i, 
and  x.  27,  and  ix.  38,  where  it  appears  that  his  refer- 
ence should  be  xi.  10.  He  may  be  right  in  his  inter- 
pretation, but  I  doubt. 

f  Cicero,  De  Natura  Deorum.  ill.  32. 


Book  VI.]     /fcarcut?  Surclius  Bntoninus.  187 

42.  We  are  all  working  together  to  one  end, 
some  with  knowledge  and  design,  and  others 
without  knowing  what  they  do;  as  men  also 
when  they  are  asleep,  of  whom  it  is  Ileraclitus, 
I  think,  who  says  that  they  are  laborers  and 
co-operators  in  the  things  which  take  place  ii> 
the  universe,     lint  men  co-operate  after  differ- 
ent fashions:  and  even  those  co-operate  abun 
dantly,  who  find  fault  with  what  happens  and 
those  who  try  to  oppose  it  and  to  hinder  it;  for 
the  universe   had  need  even  of  such   men  as 
these.     It  remains  then  for  thee  to  understand 
among  what  kind  of  workmen  thou  placest  thy- 
self; for  he  who  rules  all  things  will  certainly 
make  a  right  use  of  thee,  and  he  will  receive 
thee  among  some  part  of  the  co-operators  and 
of  those   whose   labors   conduce   to  one   end. 
But  be  not  thou  such  a  part  as  the  mean  and 
ridiculous  verse  in  the  play,  which  Chrysippus 
speaks  of.:i: 

43.  Does  the  sun  undertake  to  do  the  work 
of  the  rain,   or  Aesculapius  the  work  of  the 
Fruit-bearer  [the  earth]  ?     And  how  is  it  with 
respect  to  each  of  the  stars — are  they  not  differ- 
ent and  yet  they  work  together  to  the  same 
end  ? 

44.  If  the  gods  have  determined  about  me 
and  about  the  things   which  must  happen  to 
me,  they  have  determined   well,    for  it  is  not 
easy   even   to   imagine   a  deity   without  fore- 
thought; and  as  to  doing  me  harm,  why  should 

*  Plutarch,  adversus  Stoicos,  c.  14. 


1 88  £bougbt9.  [BookVL 

they  have  any  desire  towards  that  ?  for  what 
advantage  would  result  to  them  from  this  or  to 
the  whole,  which  is  the  special  object  of  their 
providence?  But  if  they  have  not  determined 
about  me  individually,  they  have  certainly  de- 
termined about  the  whole  at  least,  and  the 
things  which  happen  by  way  of  sequence  in 
this  general  arrangement  I  ought  to  accept 
with  'pleasure  and  to  be  content  with  them. 
But  if  they  determine  about  nothing, — which 
it  is  wicked  to  believe,  or  if  we  do  believe  it, 
let  us  neither  sacrifice  nor  pray  nor  swear  by 
them,  nor  do  anything  else  which  we  do  as  if 
the  gods  were  present  and  lived  with  us, — but 
if  however  the  gods  determine  about  none  of 
the  things  which  concern  us,  I  am  able  to  de- 
termine about  myself,  and  I  can  inquire  about 
that  which  is  useful:  and  that  is  useful  to 
every  man  which  is  conformable  to  his  own 
constitution  and  nature.  But  my  nature  is 
rational  and  social;  and  my  city  and  country,  so 
far  as  I  am  Antoninus,  is  Rome,  but  so  far  as 
I  am  a  man,  it  is  the  world.  The  things  then 
which  are  useful  to  these  cities  are  alone  use- 
ful to  me. 

45.  Whatever  happens  to  every  man,  this  is 
for  the  interest  of  the  universal:  this  might  be 
sufficient.  But  further  thou  wilt  observe  this 
also  as  a  general  truth,  if  thou  dost  observe, 
that  whatever  is  profitable  to  any  man  is  prof- 
itable also  to  other  men.  But  let  the  word 
profitable  be  taken  here  in  the  common  sense 


Book  VI.]     /ifearciiy  aurcliiiy  Untcminus. 


as  said  of  things  of  the  middle  kind  [neither 
good  nor  bad]. 

46.  As  it  happens  to  thee  in  the  amphitheatre 
and  such  places,  that  the  continual  sight  of 
the  same  things,  and  the  uniformity,  make  the 
spectacle  wearisome,  so  it  is  in  the  whole  of 
life;  for  all  things  above,  below,  are  the  same 
and  from  the  same.      How  long  then? 

47.  Think  continually  that  all  kinds  of  men 
and  all  kinds  of  pursuits  and  of  all  nations  are 
dead,  so  that  thy  thoughts  come  down  even   to 
Philistion  and  Phoebus  and  Origanion.     Now 
turn  thy  thoughts  to  the  other  kinds  [of  men]. 
To  that   place  then  we  must    remove,  where 
there  are  so  many  great  orators,  and  so  many 
noble    philosophers,    Heraclitus,    Pythagoras, 
Socrates;  so  many  heroes  of  former  days,  and 
so  many  generals  after  them,  and  tyrants;  be- 
sides these,  Kudoxus,  Hipparchus,  Archimedes. 
and  other  men  of  acute  natural  talents,  great 
minds,    lovers    of    labor,    versatile,    confident, 
mockers  even  of  the  perishable  and  ephemeral 
life  of  man,  as  Menippus  and  such  as  are  like 
him.     As  to  all  these  consider  that  they  have 
long  been  in  the  dust.     What  harm  then  is  this 
to  them;  and  what  to  those  whose  names  are 
altogether  unknown  ?     One  thing  here  is  worth 
a  great  deal,  to  pass  thy  life  in  truth  and  just- 
ice, with  a  benevolent  disposition  even  to  liar? 
and  unjust  men. 

48.  When  thou  wishest  to  delight   thyself, 
think  of  the  virtues  of  those  who  live  with 


igo  Cbougbts.  [Book  vi 

thee;  for  instance,  the  activity  of  one,  and  the 
modesty  of  another,  and  the  liberality  of  a 
third,  and  some  other  good  quality  of  a  fourth. 
For  nothing  delights  so  much  as  the  examples 
of  the  virtues,  when  they  are  exhibited  in  the 
morals  of  those  who  live  with  us  and  present 
themselves  in  abundance,  as  far  as  is  possible. 
Wherefore  \ve  must  keep  them  before  us. 

49.  Thou  art  not  dissatisfied,  I  suppose,  be- 
cause thou  weighest  only  so  many  litrae  and 
not  three  hundred.     Be  not  dissatisfied  then 
that  thou  must  live  only  so  many  years  and 
not  more ;   for  as  thou  art  satisfied  with  the 
amount  of  substance  which  has  been  assigned 
to  thee,  so  be  content  with  the  time. 

50.  L,et   us   try    to   persuade    them    [men]. 
But   act   even    against    their   will,    when    the 
principles  of  justice  lead  that  way.     If  however 
any  man  by  using  force  stands  in  thy  way,  be- 
take  thyself  to  contentment  and  tranquillity, 
and  at  the  same  time  employ    the  hindrance 
towards  the  exercise  of  some  other  virtue;  and 
remember  that  thy  attempt  was  with  a  reser- 
vation [conditionally],  that  thou  didst  not  de- 
sire to   do  impossibilities.     What  then  didst 
thou  desire? — Some  such  effort  as  this. — But 
thou  attainest  thy  object,  if  the  things  to  which 
thou  wast  moved  are  [not]  accomplished. 4- 

51.  He   who   loves   fame  considers  another 
man's  activity  to  be  his  own  good;  and  he  who 
loves    pleasure,    his   own    sensations  ;    but   he 
who  has  understanding  considers  his  own  acts 
to  be  his  own  good. 


Book  vi.]     /fcarcus  ZUirclius  Bntoninus. 


52.  It  is  iu  our  power  to  have  no  opinion 
about  a  thing,  and  not  to  be  disturbed  in  our 
soul  ;   for  things  themselves  have  no  natural 
power  to  form  our  judgments. 

53.  Accustom  thyself  to  attend  carefully  to 
what  is  said  by  another,  and  as  much  as  it  is 
possible,  be  in  the  speaker's  mind. 

54.  That  which  is  not  good  for  the  swarm, 
neither  is  it  good  for  the  bee. 

55.  If  sailors  abused  the  helmsman,  or  the 
sick  the  doctor,  would  they  listen  to  anybody 
else  ?  or  how  could  the  helmsman  secure  the 
safety  of  those  in  the  ship,  or  the  doctor  the 
health  of  those  whom  he  attends? 

56.  How  many  together  witli  whom  I  came 
into  the  world  are  already  gone  out  of  it. 

57.  To    the  jaundiced    honey    tastes  bitter, 
and  to  those  bitten  by  mad  dogs  water  causes 
fear  ;  and  to  little  children  the   ball  is  a   fine 
thing.      Why  then   am    I    angry  ?     Dost   thou 
think  that  a  false  opinion  has  less  power  than 
the  bile  in  the  jaundiced  or  the  poison  in  him 
who  is  bitten  by  a  mad  dog? 

58.  IS^o  man  will  hinder  thee  from  living  ac- 
cording to  the  reason  of  thy  own  nature  :  noth- 
ing will  happen  to  thee  contrary  to  the  reason 
of  the  universal  nature. 

59.  What  kind   of  people  are  those  whom 
men  wish  to  please,  and  for  what  objects,  and 
by  what  kind  of  acts?     How  soon  will  time 
cover  all  things,  and  how  many  it  has  covered 
already. 


[Book  vn. 


VII. 

WHAT  is  badness?  It  is  that  which  thou 
hast  often  seen.  And  on  the  occasion  of 
everything  which  happens  keep  this  in  mind, 
that  it  is  that  which  thou  hast  often  seen. 
Everywhere  up  and  down  thou  wilt  find  the 
same  things,  with  which  the  old  histories  are 
filled,  those  of  the  middle  ages  and  those  of 
our  own  day  ;  with  which  cities  and  houses 
are  filled  now.  There  is  nothing  new :  all 
things  are  both  familiar  and  short-lived. 

2.  How  can  our  principles  become  dead,  un- 
less t\\Q  impressions  [thoughts]  which    corre- 
spond to  them  are  extinguished?     But  it  is  in 
thy  power  continuously  to  fan  these  thoughts 
into  a  flame.     I  can  have  that  opinion  about 
anything  which  I  ought  to  have.     If  I  can, 
why  am  I  disturbed?     The  things  which  are 
external  to  my  mind  have  no  relation  at  all  to 
my  mind. — Let  this  be  the  state  of  thy  affects, 
and  thou  standest  erect.     To  recover  thy  life  is 
in  thy  power.     Look  at  things  again  as  thou 
didst  use  to  look  at  them  ;  for  in  this  consists 
the  recovery  of  thy  life. 

3.  The  idle  business  of  show,  plays  on  the 
stage,   flocks  of  sheep,   herds,   exercises  with 
spears,  a  bone  cast  to  little  dogs,  a  bit  of  bread 


Book  VII.]    /fearcus  Surclius  Hntcninus.  193 

into  fishponds,  laborings  of  ants  and  burden- 
carrying,  runnings  about  of  frightened  little 
mice,  puppets  pulled  by  strings — [all  alike]. 
It  is  thy  duty  then  in  the  midst  of  such  things 
to  show  good  humor  and  not  a  proud  air;  to 
understand  however  that  every  man  is  worth 
just  so  much  as  the  things  are  worth  about 
which  he  busies  himself. 

4.  In  discourse  thou  must  attend  to  what  is 
said,    and   in  every   movement  thou   must  ob- 
serve  what   is  doing.      And   in    the   one    thou 
shouldst  see  immediately  to  what  end  it  refers, 
but  in  the  other  watch  carefully  what  is  the 
thing  signified. 

5.  Is  my  understanding  sufficient  for  this  or 
not?     If  it  is  sufficient,  I  use  it  for  the  work  as 
an  instrument  given  by  the  universal  nature. 
But  if  it  is  not  sufficient,  then  either  I  retire 
from  the  work  and  give  way  to  him  who  is 
able  to  do  it  better,  unless  there  be  some  reason 
why  I  ought  not  to  do  so;  or  I  do  it  as  well  as 
I  can,  taking  to  help  me  the  man  who  with  the 
aid  of  my  ruling  principle  can  do  what  is  now- 
fit  and  useful  for  the  general  good.      For  what- 
soever either  by  myself  or  with  another  I  can 
do,  ought  to  be  directed  to  this  only,   to  that 
which  is  useful  and  well  suited  to  society. 

6.  How7  many  after  being  celebrated  by  fame 
have  been  given  up  to  oblivion;  and  how  many 
who  have  celebrated  the  fame  of  others  have 
long  been  dead. 

7.  Be  not  ashamed  to  be  helped;  for  it  is  thy 

13 


[Book  YE 


business  to  do  thy  duty  like  a  soldier  in  the 
assault  on  a  town.  How  then,  if  being  lame 
thou  canst  not  mount  up  on  the  battlements 
alone,  but  with  the  help  of  another  it  is  pos- 
sible ? 

8.  Let   not   future  things  disturb  thee,    for 
thou  wilt  come  to  them,  if  it  shall  be  necessary, 
having  with  thee  the  same  reason  which  now 
~;hou  usest  for  present  things. 

9.  All  things  are  implicated  with  one  another, 
and  the  bond  is  holy;  and  there  is  hardly  any- 
thing   unconnected     with    any    other    thing. 
For  things  have  been  co-ordinated,  and  they 
combine  to  form   the  same   universe    [order]. 
For   there    is   one   universe    made    up   of    all 
things,  and  one  god  who  pervades  all  things, 
and  one  substance,*  and  one  law,  [one]  com- 
mon reason  in  all  intelligent  animals,  and  one 
truth;  if  indeed  there  is  also  one  perfection  for 
all  animals  which  are  of  the  same  stock  and 
participate  in  the  reason. 

10.  Everything  material  soon  disappears  in 
the  substance  of  the   whole;  and   everything 
formal  [causal]  is  very  soon  taken  back  into 
the  universal  reason;  and  the  memory  of  every- 
thing is  very  soon  overwhelmed  in  time. 

11.  To  the  rational  animal  the  same  act  is 
according  to  nature  and  according  to  reason. 

12.  Be  thou  erect,  or  be  made  erect  (iii.  5). 

13.  Just  as  it  is  with  the  members  in  those 
bodies  which  are  united  in  one,  so  it  i»  with 

*  "One  substance,"  p.  42,  note  i. 


Book  VII.]    flfcarcus  Burcliii!3  Bntcninus. 


rational  beings  which  exist  separate,  for  they 
have  been  Constituted  for  one  co-operation. 
And  the  perception  of  this  will  be  more  appar- 
ent to  thee  if  tliou  often  sayest  to  thyself  that 
I  am  a  member  [/«/<»•]  of  the  system  of  rational 
beings.  But  if  [using  the  letter  /•]  thou  sa\x->t 
that  thou  art  a  part  [«,•/"".].  thon  dost  not  yet 
love  men  from  thy  heart  ;  beneficence  does  not 
yet  delight  thee  for  its  own  sake;*  thou  still 
cloest  it  l>arely  as  a  thing'  of  propriety,  and  not 
yet  as  doing"  good  to  thyself. 

14.  Let    there    fall   externally   what   will   on 
the  parts  which  can  feel  the  effects  of  this  fall. 
For  those  parts  which  have  felt  will  complain, 
if  they   choose.      But    I,    unless   I    think    that 
what  lias  happened  is  an  evil,  am  not  injured. 
And  it  is  in  my  power  not  to  think  so. 

15.  Whatever  any  one  does  or  says,  I   must 
be  good  ;  just  as  if  the  gold,  or  the  emerald,  or 
the  purple,  were  always  saying"  this.      What- 
ever any  one  does  or  says,  I  must  be  emerald 
and  keep  my  color. 

1  6.  The  ruling  faculty  does  not  disturb  it- 
self; 1  mean,  does  not  frighten  itself  or  cause 
itself  pain.  -  But  if  any  one  else  can  frighten 
or  pain  it,  let  him  do  so.  For  the  facultv  it- 
self will  not  by  its  own  opinion  turn  itself  into 
such  ways.  Let  the  body  itself  take  care,  if  it 
can,  that  it  suffer  nothing,  and  let  it  speak,  if 


196  'CbOUflbtS.  [Book  VIL 

it  suffers.  But  the  soul  itself,  that  which  is 
subject  to  fear,  to  pain,  which  has  completely 
the  power  of  forming'  an  opinion  about  these 
things,  will  suffer  nothing,  for  it  will  never 
deviate  +  into  such  a  judgment.  The  leading 
principle  in  itself  wants  nothing,  unless  it 
makes  a  want  for  itself;  and  therefore  it  is 
both  free  from  perturbation  and  unimpeded,  if 
it  does  not  disturb  and  impede  itself. 

17.  Eudaemouia     [happiness]     is    a    good 
daemon,  or  a  good  thing.     What  then  art  them 
doing  here,  O  imagination  ?     Go  away,  I   en- 
treat thee  by  the  gods,  as  thou  didst  come,  for 
I  want  thee  not.     But  thou  art  come  according 
to  thy  old  fashion.     I  am  not  angry  with  thee  : 
only  go  away. 

18.  Is  any  man   afraid   of  change?     Why, 
what  can  take  place  without  change?     What 
then  is  more  pleasing  or  more  suitable  to  the 
universal  nature  ?     And  canst  thou  take  a  bath 
unless    the    wood    undergoes    a   change  ?    and 
canst  thou  be  nourished,  unless  the  food  un- 
dergoes  a  change?     And    can    anything   else 
that  is  useful  be  accomplished  without  change? 
Dost  thou  not  see  then  that  for  thyself  also  to 
change  is  just  the  same,  and  equally  necessary 
for  the  universal  nature  ? 

19.  Through     the     universal     substance    as 
through  a  furious  torrent  all  bodies  are  carried, 
being  by  their  nature  united  with  and  co-oper- 
ating with  the  whole,  as  the  parts  of  our  body 
with  one  another.     How  many  a  Chrvsippus, 


Book  VII.]    dfcarcus  Hurclius  Bntcmfnus.          197 

how  many  a  vSocrates,  how  many  an  Kpictetus 
has  time  already  swallowed  up  !  And  let  the 
same  thought  occur  to  thee  with  reference  to 
every  man  and  thing  (v.  23;  yi.  15). 

20.  One  tiling  only  troubles  me,  lest  I  should 
do  something  which    the  constitution    of  man 
does  not  allow,  or  in   the  way  which   it  docf 
not  allow,  or  what  it  does  not  allow  now. 

21.  Near  is  thy  forgetfulness  of  all  things; 
and  near  the  f'r  get  fulness  of  thee  1>y  all. 

22.  It  is  peculiar  to  man   to  love  even  those 
who   do   wrong.      And    this   happens,  if  when 
they  do  wrong  it  occurs  to  thee  that  they  are 
kinsmen,    and    that    they    do   wrong    through 
ignorance  and  unintentionally,  and  that  soon 
both  of  you  will  die  ;    and  above  all.  that  the 
wrong-doer  has  done  thee  no  harm,  lor  he  has 
not  made  thy  ruling  faculty  worse  than  it  was 
before. 

23.  The  universal  nature  out  of  the  universal 
substance,   as  if  it  were  wax.   now  moulds  a 
horse,  and  when  it  has  broken  this  up,  it  uses 
the  material  for  a  tree,  then  lor  a  man,  then  for 
something  else;   and  each  of  the.-'c  thi'ig.s  sub- 
sists for  a  very  short  time.     But  it  is  no  hard- 
ship  for  the  vessel   to  be  broken   up,  just   as 
there  was  none  in  its  being  fastened   together 
(viii.  50). 

24.  A  scowling  look  is  altogether  unnatural ; 
when  it  is  often  assumed,*  the  result  is  that  all 
comeliness  dies  away,  and  at  last  is  so  coin- 

*  This  is  corrupt. 


198  ^TbOligbtS.  [Book  VIL 

pletely  extinguished  that  it  cannot  be  again 
lighted  up  at  all.  Try  to  conclude  from  this 
very  fact  that  it  is  contrary  to  reason.  For  if 
even  the  perception  of  doing  wrong  shall  de- 
part, what  reason  is  there  for  living  any 
longer  ? 

25.  Nature  which   governs  the  whole  will 
soon  change  all  things  thon  seest,  and  out  of 
their  substance  will   make  other  things,   and 
again  other  things  from  the  substance  of  them, 
in  order  that  the  world  may  be  ever  new  (xii. 

23)- 

26.  When  a  man  has  done  thee  any  wrong, 
immediately  consider  with  what  opinion  about 
good  or  evil   he  has  done  wrong.     For  when 
thou  hast  seen  this,  thou  wilt  pity  him,  and 
wilt  neither  wonder  nor  be  angry.     For  either 
thou   thyself  thinkest   the  same    thing   to  be 
good  that  he  does,  or  another  thing  of  the  same 
kind.     It   is   thy   duty  then    to    pardon    him. 
But  if  thou  dost  not  think  such  things  to  be 
good  or  evil,  thou  wilt  more   readily  be  well 
disposed  to  him  who  is  in  error. 

27.  Think  not  so  much  of  what  thou  hast 
not  as  of  what  thou  hast:  but  of  the  things 
which  thou  hast  select  the  best,  and  then  reflect 
how  eagerly  they  would  have  been  sought,  if 
thou  haclst  them  not.     At  the  same  time,  how- 
ever, take  care  that  thou  dost  not  through  be- 
ing so  pleased  with  them  accustom  thyself  to 
overvalue  them,  so  as  to  be  disturbed   if  ever 
thou  shouldst  not  have  them. 


Book  VII.]    /Jfcarcus  Burclfus  Bntcmfnus.  199 

28.  Retire  into  thyself.     The  rational  prin- 
ciple which  rules  has  this  nature,  that  it  is  con- 
tent with  itself  when  it  does  what  is  just,   and 
so  secures  tranquillity. 

29.  Wipe   out    the    imagination.      Stop   the 
pulling  of  the  strings.      Confine  thyself  to  the 
present.     Understand  well  what  happens  either 
to  thee  or  to  another.      Divide  and  distribute 
every  object  into  the  causal  [formal]  and  the 
material.     Think  of  thy  last   hour.     Let   the 
wrong  which  is  done  by  a  man  stay  there  where 
the  wrong  was  done  (viii.  2gJ. 

30.  Direct   thy    attention    to   what    is   said. 
Let  thy  understanding  enter  into  the   things 
that  are  doing  and  the  things  which  do  them 
(vii.  4). 

31.  Adorn     thyself    with     simplicity     ana 
modesty,    and  with   indifference    towards    the 
things    which    lie   between    virtue    and    vice. 
Love  mankind.     Follow  God.     The  poet  says 
that  law  rules  all —  -r     And  it  is  enough  to  re- 
member that  law  rules  all.+* 

32.  About  death  :  whether  it  is  a  dispersion, 
or  a  resolution  into  atoms,  or  annihilation,  it  is 
either  extinction  or  change. 

33.  About  pain  :  the  pain  which  is  intoler- 
able carries  us  off;  but  that  which  lasts  a  long 
time  is  tolerable;  and  the  mind  maintains  its 
own    tranquillity  by  retiring   into  itself,    and 
the  ruling  faculty  is  not  made  worse.     But  the 

*  The  end  of  this  section  is  unintelligible. 


200  Gbougbts.  [BookVE 

parts  which  are  harmed  by  pain,  let  them,  if 
they  can,  give  their  opinion  about  it. 

34.  About   fame :    look   at   the    minds   [of 
those  who  seek  fame],  observe  what  they  are, 
and  what  kind  of  things  they  avoid,  and  what 
kind   of  things    they    pursue.     And    consider 
that  as  the  heaps  of  sand  piled  on  one  another 
hide  the  former  sands,   so   in   life   the  events 
which  go  before  are   soon   covered   by  those 
which  come  after. 

35.  From  Plato  :*  The  man  who  has  an  ele- 
vated mind  and  takes  a  view  of  all  time  and 
of  all  substance,  dost  thou  suppose  it  possible 
for  him  to  think  that  human  life   is  anything 
great?     It  is  not  possible,    lie  said. — Such  a 
man  then  will  think  that  death  also  is  no  evil. 
— Certainly  not. 

36.  From   Antisthenes :    It   is  royal   to   do 
good  and  to  be  abused. 

37.  It  is  a  base  thing  for  the  countenance  to 
be  obedient  and  to  regulate  and  compose  itself 
as  the  mind  commands,  and  for  the  mind  not 
to  be  regulated  and  composed  by  itself. 

38.  It  is  not  right  to  vex  ourselves  at  things, 
For  they  care  nought  about  it."*" 

39.  To  the  immortal  gods  and  us  give  joy. 

40.  lyife  must  be  reaped  like  the  ripe  ears  of 

corn. 
One  man  is  born  ;  another  dies.J 

*  Plato,  Pol.  vi.  486. 

t  From  the  Bellerophon  of  Euripides. 

|  From  the  I  Jypsipy  le  of  Euripides.     Cicero  (Tuscul. 


Book  vii.]    /Rarcus  Burelius  Bntoninus.          201 


41 .  If  gods  care  not  for  me  and  my  children, 
There  is  a  reason  for  it. 

42.  For  the  good  is  with  me,  and   the  just.* 

43.  No  joining  others  in  their  wailing,   no 

violent  emotion. 

44.  From    Plato  :t    But   I   would  make  this 
man  a  sufficient  answer,  which  is  this:  Thou 
sayest  not  well,  it"  thou   thinkest   that  a   man 
who  is  good   for  anything  at  all  ought  to  com- 
pute the  hazard  of  life  or  death,  and  should 
not  rather  look  to  this  only  in  all  that  he  does, 
whether  he  is  doing  what  is  just  or  unjust,  and 
the  works  of  a  good  or  bad  man. 

45.  tFor  thus  it  is,  men  of  Athens,  in  truth: 
wherever  a  man  has  placed  himself  thinking  it 
the  best  place  for  him,  or  has  been  placed  by  a 
commander,  there  in  my  opinion   he  ought  to 
stay  and  to  abide  the  hazard,  taking  nothing 
into  the  reckoning,   either  death  or  anything 
else,    before    the    baseness    [of    deserting    his 
post]. 

46.  But,    my    good    friend,    reflect   whether 
that  which  is  noble  and  good  is  not  something 
different  from  saving  and  being  saved;  for 4-  as 
to  a  man  living  such  or  such  a  time,  at  least 
one  who  is  really  a  man,  consider  if  this  is  not 

iii.  25)  has  translate;!   six  lines  from  Euripides,  and 
among'  them  are  these  two  lines, — 

"  Reddenda  terrae  est  terra:  turn  vita  omnibus 

Metenda  ut  fruges:  Sic  jubet  necessitas." 
*  See  Aristophanes,  Acharneuses,  v.  661. 
•f  From  the  Apologia,  c.  16. 


202  Cbougbts.  [Bookm 

a  thing  to  be  dismissed  from  the  thoughts  :4- 
and  there  must  be  no  love  of  life  :  but  as  to 
these  matters  a  man  must  intrust  them  to  the 
Deity  and  believe  what  the  women  say,  that 
no  man  can  escape  his  destiny,  the  next  in- 
quiry being  how  he  may  best  live  the  time  that 
he  has  to  live.* 

47.  Look  round  at  the  courses  of  the  stars, 
as  if  thou  wert  going   along  with  them  ;  and 
constantly  consider  the  changes  of  the  elements 
into   one    another,    for   such    thoughts   purge 
away  the  filth  of  the  terrene  life. 

48.  This  is  a  fine  saying  of  Plato  :~*~  That  he 
who  is  discoursing  about  men  should  look  also 
at  earthly  things  as  if  he  viewed  them  from 
some  higher  place  ;   should  look   at  them   in 
their   assemblies,    armies,   agricultural  labors, 
marriages,  treaties,  births,  deaths,  noise  of  the 
courts  of  justice,  desert  places,  various  nations 
of  barbarians,  feasts,  lamentations,  markets,  a 
mixture  of  all  things  and  an  orderly  combina- 
tion of  contraries. 

49.  Consider  the  past, — such  great  changes 
of  political  supremacies:  thou  mayest  foresee 
also  the  things  which  will  be.     For  they  will 

*  Plato,  Gorgias,  c.  68  (512).  In  this  passage  the 
text  of  Antoninus  has  kartnr,  which  is  perhaps  rijjht; 
but  there  is  a  difficulty  in  the  words  ////  ;  <//;  rolro  ufv, 
TO  ^f/'v  ii—oijoriM/  %povov  roryc  ur  a/.ijflilx;  ari^nt  lariov  itjri, 
Kai  or,  &c.  The  conjecture  EVKTEOV  for  karri >v  does  not 
mend  the  matter. 

t  It  is  said  that  this  is  not  in  the  extant  writings  of 
Plato. 


Book  VII.]    /fcarcus  Hurclius  Bntonimis.  203 

certainly  be  of  like  form,  and  it  is  not  possible 
that  they  should  deviate  from  the  order  of  the 
things  which  take  place  now;  accordingly  to 
have  contemplated  human  life  for  forty  years 
is  the  same  as  to  have  contemplated  it  for  ten 
thousand  years.  For  what  more  wilt  thou 
see? 

50.  That  which  has  grown  from  the  earth  to 

the  earth, 
But  that  which  has  sprung  from  heavenly 

seed, 

Back  to  the  heavenly  realms  returns/'" 
This  is  either  a  dissolution  of  the  mutual  in- 
volution of  the  atoms,  or  a  similar  dispersion 
of  the  unsentient  elements. 

51.  With  food  and  drinks  and  cunning  magic 

arts 

Turning  the  channel's  course  to  'scape 
from  death. t 

The  breeze  which  heaven  has  sent 

We  must  endure,  and  toil  without  com- 
plaining. 

52.  Another  may  be  more  expert  in  casting 
his  opponent;   but  he   is  not  more  social,  nor 
more  modest,  nor  better  disciplined  to  meet  all 
that  happens,  nor  more  considerate  with  re- 
spect to  the  faults  of  his  neighbors. 

53.  Where  any  work  can  be  done  conform- 
ably to  the  reason   which  is  common  to  gods 

*  From  the  Chrysippus  of  Euripides, 
t  The   first   two   lines   are    from   the   Supplices  of 
Euripides,  v.  1110. 


.204  Gbouabts.  [Book  YE 

and  men,  there  we  have  nothing  to  fear;  for 
where  we  are  able  to  get  profit  by  means  of  the 
activity  which  is  successful  and  proceeds  ac- 
cording to  our  constitution,  there  no  harm  is 
to  be  suspected. 

54.  Everywhere  and  at  all  times  it  is  in  thy 
power  piously  to  acquiesce  in  thy  present  con- 
dition, and  to  behave  justly  to  those  who  are 
about  thee,  and   to  exert   thy   skill  upon  thy 
present  thoughts,  that  nothing  shall  steal  into 
them  without  being  well  examined. 

55.  Do   not    look    around    thee   to    discover 
other  men's  ruling  principles,  but  look  straight 
to  this,  to  what  nature  leads  thee,  both  the  uni- 
versc.1  nature  through  the  things  which  happen 
to  thee,  and  thy  own  nature  through  the  acts 
which  must  be  done  by  thee.     But  every  being 
ought  to  do  that  which  is  according  to  its  con- 
stitution; and  all  other  things  have  been  con- 
stituted for  the  sake  of  rational  beings,  just  as 
among  irrational  things    the    inferior    for   the 
sake  of  the  superior,  but  the  rational  for  the 
sake  of  one  another. 

The  prime  principle  then  in  man's  constitu- 
tion is  the  social.  And  the  second  is  not  to 
yield  to  the  persuasions  of  the  body, — for  it  is 
the  peculiar  office  of  the  rational  and  intelligent 
motion  to  circumscribe  itself,  and  never  to  be 
overpowered  either  by  the  motion  of  the  senses 
or  of  the  appetites,  for  both  are  animal;  but  the 
intelligent  motion  claims  superiority,  and  does 
not  permit  itself  to  be  overpowered  by  the 


Book  VII  ]    /foarcus  Burclius  Sntoninue.          205 

others.  And  with  good  reason,  for  it  is  formed 
by  nature  to  use  all  of  them.  The  third  thing 
in  the  rational  constitution  is  freedom  from 
error  and  from  deception.  Let  then  the  ruling 
principle  holding  fast  to  these  tilings  go 
straight  on,  and  it  has  what  is  its  own. 

56.  Consider  thyself  to  be  dead,  and  to  have 
completed  thy  life  up  to  the  present  time;  and 
live  according  to  nature  the  remainder  which 
is  allowed  thee. 

57.  Love  that  only   which   happens  to  thee 
and   is  spun   with   the  thread  of  thy  destiny. 
For  what  is  more  suitable  ? 

58.  In   everything  which  happens  keep  be- 
fore thy  eyes  those  to  whom  the  same  things 
happened,    and    how     they    were    vexed,    and 
treated    them    as   strange    things,    and    found 
fault   with    them:   and   now   where    are   they? 
Nowhere.      Why  then  dost  thoti  too  choose  to 
act  in   the  same  way  ?  and  why  dost  thoti  not 
leave    these    agitations    which    are    foreign  to 
nature  to  those  who  cause  them  and  those  who 
are  moved  by  them;  and  why  art  thoti  not  al- 
together intent  upon  the  right  way  of  making 
use  of  the  things  which  happen  to  thee?     For 
then  thoti  wilt  use  them  well,  and  they  will  be 
a  material  for  thee  [to  work  on].      Only  attend 
to  thyself,  and  resolve  to  be  a  good  man  in  even 
act  which  thou  doest .  and  remember  .    .    .* 

*  This  section  is  obscure,  and  the  conclusion  is  so 
corrupt  that  it  is  impossible  to  .^ive  any  probable 
meaning  to  it.  It  is  better  to  leave  it  as  it  is  than  to 
patch  it  up,  as  some  critics  aud  translators  have  done.. 


206  Gbougbts.  [Book  vn. 

59.  Look  within.     Within  is  the  fountain  of 
good,  and  it  will  ever  bubble  up,  if  thou  wilt 
ever  dig. 

60.  The  body  ought  to  be  compact,  and  to 
show  no  irregularity  either  in  motion  or  atti- 
tude.    For  what  the  mind  shows  in  the  face  by 
maintaining  in  it  the  expression  of  intelligence 
and  propriety,  that  ought  to  be  required  also 
in  the  whole  body.     But  all  these  things  should 
be  observed  without  affectation. 

61.  The  art  of  life  is  more  like  the  wrestler's 
art  than  the  dancer's,  in  respect  of  this,  that  it 
should  stand   ready   and  firm   to  meet  onsets 
which  are  sudden  and  unexpected. 

62.  Constantly  observe  who  those  are  whose 
approbation  thou  wishest  to  have,  and  what 
ruling  principles  they  possess.     For  then  thou 
wilt  neither  blame  those  who  offend  involun- 
tarily,  nor  wilt  thou  want  their  approbation, 
if  thou  lookest  to  the  sources  of  their  opinions 
and  appetites. 

63.  Every  soul,  the  philosopher  says,  is  in- 
voluntarily deprived  of  truth;  consequently  in 
the  same  way  it  is  deprived  of  justice  and  tem- 
perance and  benevolence  and  everything  of  the 
kind.     It  is  most  necessary  to  bear  this  con- 
stantly in  mind,    for  thus  thou  wilt  be  more 
gentle  towards  all. 

64.  In  every  pain  let  this  thought  be  pres- 
ent, that  there  is  no  dishonor  in  it,  nor  does  it 
make  the  governing  intelligence  worse,  for  it 
does  not  damage  the  intelligence  either  so  far 


Book  VII.]    jflfoarcus  Burcliud  Bntoninus.  207 

as  the  intelligence  is  rational*  or  so  far  as  it  is 
social.  Indeed  in  the  case  of  most  pains  let 
this  remark  of  Kpicurus  aid  thee,  that  pain 
is  neither  intolerable  nor  everlasting,  if  thou 
bearest  in  mind  that  it  has  its  limits,  and  if 
thou  addest  nothing  to  it  in  imagination:  and 
remember  this  too,  that  we  do  not  perceive 
that  many  things  which  are  disagreeable  to  us 
are  the  same  as  pain,  such  as  excessive  drow- 
siness, and  tine  being  scorched  by  heat,  and 
the  having  no  appetite.  When  then  thou  art 
discontented  about  any  of  these  things,  say  to 
thyself  that  thon  art  yielding  to  pain. 

65.  Take  care  not  to  feel  towards  the  inhu- 
man as  they  feel  towards  men.")" 

66.  How  do  we  know  if  Telanges  was  not 
superior  in  character  to  Socrates  ?     For  it  is 
not  enough   that  Socrates  died  a  more  noble 
death,   and  disputed  more   skilfully  with   the 
sophists,  and  passed  the  night  in  the  cold  with 
more  endurance,  and  that  when  he  was  bid  to 
arrest  Leon^  of  Salamis,  he  considered  it  more 
noble  to  refuse,  and  that  he  walked  in  a  swag- 

*  The  text  has  M/K//,  which  it  has  been  proposed  to 
alter  to  ?.<>} /«//,  and  this  change  is  necessary.  \Ve  shall 
then  have  in  this  section  /<r.  ixij  and  KOLVUVIK/'J  associated, 
as  we  have  in  s.  68  /<>;.//,•//  and  -oliriKy,  and  in  s.  72. 

f  I  have  followed  Gataker's  conjecture  ol  a-arOpurrot 
instead  of  the  MSS.  reading  ol  ui'O/x.t-nt. 

J  Leon  of  Salamis.  See  Plato,  Kpist.  7;  Apolog.  c. 
20;  Epictetus,  iv.  I,  160;  iv.  7,  30. 


208  {TbOUflbtS.  [Book  VH. 

gering  way  in  the  streets* — though  as  to  this 
fact  one  may  have  great  doubts  if  it  was  true. 
But  we  ought  to  inquire  what  kind  of  a  soul  it 
was  that  Socrates  possessed,  and  if  he  was  able 
to  be  content  with  being  just  towards  men  and 
pious  towards  the  gods,  neither  idly  vexed  on 
account  of  men's  villainy,  nor  yet  making  him- 
self a  slave  to  any  man's  ignorance,  nor  receiv- 
ing as  strange  anything  that  fell  to  his  share 
out  of  the  universal,  nor  enduring  it  as  in- 
tolerable, nor  allowing  his  iinderstanding  to 
sympathize  with  the  affects  of  the  miserable 
flesh. 

67.  Nature  has  not  so  mingled4~  [the  intelli- 
gence]  with  the  composition  of  the  body,  as 
not  to  have  allowed  thee  the  power  of  circum- 
scribing thyself  and  of  bringing  under  subjec- 
tion to  thyself  all  that  is  thy  own  ;  for  it  is 
tfery  possible  to  be  a  divine  man   and  to   be 
recognized  as  such  by  no  one.     Always  bear 
this  in  mind  ;  and  another  tiling  too,  that  very 
little  indeed  is  necessary  for  living  a  happy  life. 
And  because  thou  hast  despaired  of  becoming 
a  dialectician  and  skilled  in  the  knowledge  of 
nature,   do  not  for  this  reason   renounce    the 
hope  of  being  both  free  and  modest,  and  social 
and  obedient  to  God. 

68.  It  is  in  thy  power  to  live  free  from  all 
compulsion  in  the  greatest  tranquillity  of  mind, 

*  Aristophan.     Nub.     362.     OTL   3p£v6vec   r'  tv 
/cot  r 


Book  VII.]    /toarcus  Burclfus  Bntoninus.          209 

even  if  all  the  world  cry  out  against  thee  as 
much  as  they  choose,  and  even  if  wild  beasts 
tear  in  pieces  the  members  of  this  kneaded 
matter  which  has  thrown  around  thee.  For 
what  hinders  the  mind  in  the  midst  of  all  this 
from  maintaining  itself  in  tranquillity  and  in  a 
just  judgment  of  all  surrounding"  things  and 
in  a  ready  use  of  the  objects  which  are  pre- 
sented to  it,  so  that  the  judgment  may  say  to 
the  thing  which  falls  under  its  observation  : 
This  thou  art  in  substance  [reality],  though  in 
inen's  opinion  thou  mayest  appear  to  be  of  a 
different  kind  ;  and  the  use  shall  say  to  that 
which  falls  under  the  hand  :  Thou  art  the  thing 
that  I  was  seeking  ;  for  to  me  that  which  pre- 
sents itself  is  always  a  material  for  virtue  both 
rational  and  political,  and  in  a  word,  for  the 
exercise  of  art,  which  belongs  to  man  or  God. 
K<>r  everything  which  happens  has  a  relation- 
ship either  to  God  or  man,  and  is  neither  new 
nor  difficult  to  handle,  but  usual  and  apt  mat- 
ter to  work  on. 

69.  The  perfection  of  moral  character  con- 
sists in  this,  in  passing  every  day  as  the  last, 
and    in    being    neither   violently    excited    nor 
torpid  nor  playing  the  hypocrite. 

70.  The    gods    who    are   immortal    are    not 
vexed   because   during   so    long   a   time   they 
must  tolerate  continually  men  such  as  they  are 
and  so  many  of  them  bad  ;  and  besides  this, 
they  also  take  care  of  them  in  all  ways.     But 
thou,  who  art  destined  to  end  so  soon,  art  thou 


2io  £bOU0btS.  [Book  VII 

wearied  of  enduring  the  bad,  and  this  too  when 
thou  art  one  of  them  ? 

71.  It  is  a  ridiculous  thing  for  a  man  not  to 
fly  from  his  own  badness,  which  is  indeed  pos- 
sible,  but   to   fly  from   other   men's   badness, 
which  is  impossible. 

72.  Whatever    the    rational    and     political 
[social]  faculty  finds  to  be  neither  intelligent 
nor  social,  it  properly  judges  to  be  inferior  to 
itself. 

73.  When  thou  hast  done  a  good  act  and 
another  has  received  it,   why   dost  thou  still 
look  for  a  third  thing  besides  these,  as  fools  do, 
either  to  have  the  reputation  of  having  done  a 
good  act  or  to  obtain  a  return  ? 

74.  No  man  is   tired  of  receiving  what   is 
useful.     But  it  is   useful  to  act  according  to 
nature.      Do   not    then   be   tired   of  receiving 
what  is  useful  by  doing  it  to  others. 

75.  The  nature  of  the  All  moved  to  make 
the  universe.     But  now  either  everything  that 
takes  ]>?ace  comes  by  way  of  consequence  or 
[continuity]  ;  or  even  the  chief  things  towards 
which  the  ruling  power  of  the  universe  directs 
its  own  movement  are  governed  by  no  rational 
principle.     If  this  is  remembered,  it  will  make 
thee  more  tranquil   in  many  things  (vi.   44  ; 
ix.  28).* 

*  It  is  not  easy  to  understand  this  section.  It  has 
been  suggested  that  there  is  some  error  in  i/  aMytara, 
&c.  Some  of  the  translators  have  made  nothing  of 
the  passage,  and  they  have  somewhat  perverted  the 


hook  vii.]    flfearcus  Surclius  Hntoninus.          211 


words.  The  first  proposition  is,  that  the  universe  was 
tnade  by  some  sufficient  power.  A  beginning  of  the 
universe  is  assumed,  and  a  power  which  framed  an 
order.  The  next  question  is,  I  low  are  things  pro- 
dueed  now?  Or,  in  other  words,  by  what  power  do 
forms  appear  in  continuous  succession?  The  answer, 
according  to  Antoninus,  may  be  this:  It  is  by  virtue 
of  the  original  constitution  of  things  that  all  change 
nnd  succession  have  been  effected  and  are  effected. 
And  this  is  intelligible  in  a  sense,  if  we  admit  that  the 
universe  is  always  one  and  the  same,  a  continuity  of 
identity;  as  much  one  and  the  same  as  man  is  one 
and  the  same — which  he  believes  himself  to  be,  though 
he  also  believes,  and  cannot  help  believing,  that  both 
in  his  body  and  in  his  thoughts  there  is  change  and 
succession.  There  is  no  real  discontinuity  then  in 
the  universe;  and  if  wo  say  that  there  was  an  order 
framed  in  the  beginning,  and  that  the  things  which 
are  now  produced  are  a  consequence  of  a  previous  ar- 
rangement, we  speak  of  things  as  we  are  compelled  to 
view  them,  as  forming  a  series  of  succession,  just  as 
we  speak  of  the  changes  in  our  own  bodies  and  the 
sequence  of  our  own  thoughts,  But  as  there  are  no 
intervals,  not  even  intervals  infinitely  small,  between 
any  two  supposed  states  of  any  one  thing,  so  there  are 
no  intervals,  not  even  infinitely  small,  between  what 
we  call  one  thing  and  any  other  thing  which  we  speak 
of  as  immediately  preceding  or  Following  it.  What 
we  call  time  is  an  idea  derived  from  our  notion  of  a 
succession  of  things  or  events,  an  idea  which  is  a  part 
of  our  constitution,  but  not  an  idea  which  we  can  sup- 
pose to  belong  to  an  infinite  intelligence  and  power. 
The  conclusion  then  is  certain  that  the  present  and 
the  past,  the  production  of  present  things  and  the  sup- 
posed original  order,  out  of  which  we  sav  that  present 
things  now  come,  are  one,  and  the  present  productive 
power  and  the  so-called  past  arrangement  are  onlv 
different  names  for  one  thing.  I  suppose  then  that 
Antoninus  wrote  here  as  people  sometimes  talk  uo\v, 


212  Cbougbts.  [Bookvn. 

and  that  his  real  meaning  is  not  exactly  expressed  by 
his  words.  There  are  certainly  other  passages  from 
which  I  think  that  we  may  collect  that  he  had  notions 
of  production  something  like  what  I  have  expressed. 
We  now  come  to  the  alternate:  "or  even  the  chief 
things  .  .  .  principle."  I  do  not  exactly  know  what 
he  means  by  ™  Kvpiurara,  "the  chief,"  or  "the  most 
excellent,"  or  whatever  it  is.  But  as  he  speaks  else- 
where of  inferior  and  superior  things,  and  of  the  infe- 
rior being  for  the  use  of  the  superior,  and  of  rational 
beings  being  the  highest,  he  may  here  mean  rational 
beings.  He  also  in  this  alternative  assumes  a  govern- 
ing power  of  the  universe,  and  that  it  acts  by  directing 
its  power  towards  these  chief  objects,  or  making  its  spe- 
cial, proper  motion  towards  them.  And  here  he  uses 
the  noun  (opui/)  "movement,"  which  contains  the 
same  notion  as  the  verb  ' .  <jp«;/<Te)  "moved,"  which  he 
used  at  the  beginning  of  the  paragraph,  when  he  was 
speaking  of  the  making  of  the  universe.  If  we  do  not 
accept  the  first  hypothesis,  he  says,  we  must  take  the 
conclusion  of  the  second,  that  the  "chief  things  to- 
wards which  the  ruling  power  of  the  universe  directs 
its  own  movement  are  governed  by  no  rational  prin- 
ciple." The  meaning  then  is,  if  there  is  a  meaning 
in  it,  that  though  there  is  a  governing  power  which 
strives  to  give  effect  to  its  efforts,  we  must  conclude 
that  there  is  no  rational  direction  of  anything,  if  the 
power  which  first  made  the  universe  does  not  in  some 
way  govern  it  still.  P.esides,  if  we  assume  that  any- 
thing is  now  produced  or  now  exists  without  the  ac- 
tion of  the  supreme  intelligence,  and  yet  that  this 
intelligence  makes  an  effort  to  act,  we  obtain  a  con- 
clusion which  cannot  be  reconciled  with  the  nature 
of  a  supreme  power,  whose  existence  Antoninus  al- 
ways assumes.  The  tranquillity  that  a  man  mav  gain 
from  these  reflections  must  result  from  his  rejecting 
the  second  hypothesis  and  accepting  the  first — what- 
ever may  be  the  exact  sense  in  which  the  emperor  un- 
derstood the  first.  Or,  as  he  says  elsewhere,  if  there 


Book  YII.]    /ftarcus  Burelfus  Bntoninus.          213 

is  no  Providence  which  governs  the  world,  man  has 
at  least  the  power  of  j^overnin:^  himself  according  to 
the  constitution  of  his  nature:  and  so  he  may  lie  tran- 
quil if  he  does  the  best  thai  lie  can. 

If  then-  is  no  error  in  the  passage,  it  is  worth  the 
labor  to  discover  the  writer's  exact  meaning —for  I 
think  that  he  had  a  meaning,  though  people  mav  not 
as^ree  what  it  was.  i  Compare  ix.  2S. )  If  I  have 
rightly  explained  the  emperor's  meaning  in  this  and 
other  passages,  lie  has  touched  the  solution  of  a  <;reat 
question. 


214  tTbougbts.  [Book  vm. 


VIII. 

THIS  reflection  also  tends  to  the  removal  of 
the  desire  of  empty  fame,  that  it  is  no 
longer  in  thy  power  to  have  lived  the  whole  of 
thy  life,  or  at  least  thy  life  from  thy  youth  up- 
wards, like  a  philosopher;  but  both  to  many 
others  and  to  thyself  it  is  plain  that  thou  art 
far  from  philosophy.  Thou  hast  fallen  into 
disorder  then,  so  that  it  is  no  longer  easy  for 
thee  to  get  the  reputation  of  a  philosopher;  and 
thy  plan  of  life  also  opposes  it.  If  then  thou 
hast  truly  seen  where  the  matter  lies,  throw 
away  the  thought,  How  thou  shalt  seem  [to 
others],  and  be  content  if  thou  shalt  live  the 
rest  of  thy  life  in  such  wise  as  thy  nature  wills. 
Observe  then  what  it  wills,  and  let  nolhing 
else  distract  thee;  for  thou  hast  had  experience 
of  many  wanderings  without  having  found  hap- 
piness anywhere, — not  in  syllogisms,  nor  in 
wealth,  nor  in  reputation,  nor  in  enjoyment, 
nor  anywhere.  Where  is  it  then?  In  doing 
what  man's  nature  requires.  How  then  shall 
a  man  do  this?  If  he  has  principles  from 
which  come  his  affects  and  his  acts.  What 
principles?  Those  which  relate  to  good  and 
bad:  the  belief  that  there  is  nothing  good  for 
man  which  does  not  make  him  just,  temperate, 


Book  viii.]   /fcarcus  Burelfus  Bntontnus.          2i 


manly,  free;  and  that  there  is  nothing  bad 
which  does  not  do  the  contrary  to  what  has 
been  mentioned. 

2.  On  the  occasion  of  every  act  ask  tin-self, 
How  is  this  with  respect  to  me  ?     Shall  I  repent 
of  it?     A  little  time  and   I  am  dead,  and  all  is 
gone.      What   more   do    I    seek,   if  what  I   am 
now  doing  is  the  work  of  an  intelligent  living 
being,  and  a  social  being,  and  one  who  is  under 
the  same  law  with  God  ? 

3.  Alexander    and    Caius*    and    Pompeius, 
what   are   they   in   comparison    with    Diogenes 
and  Heraclitus  and  Socrates?     For  they  were 
acquainted    with     things,     and     their    causes 
[forms],  and  their  matter,  and  the  ruling  prin- 
ciples of  these  men  were  the  same  [or  conform- 
able to  their  pursuits].      But  as  to  the  others, 
how  many  things  had  they  to  care  for,  and  tc 
how  many  things  were  they  slaves  i 

4.  [Consider]    that    men   will    do   the   same 
things  nevertheless,  even  though  thou  shouldst 
burst. 

5.  This    is    the    chief    thing  :     Be    not    per- 
turbed,   for   all    things    are   according   to    the 
nature  of  the  universal  ;  and  in  a  little  time 
thou  wilt  be  nobody  and  nowhere,  like  Had- 
rianus  and  Augustus.     In  the  next  place,  hav- 
ing fixed  thy   eyes  steadily  on   thy  business, 
look  at  it,  and  at  the  same  time  remembering 
that  it  is  thy  duty  to  be  a  good  man,  and  what 

*Caius  is  C.  Julius  Caesar,  the  dictator;  and  Pompe- 
ius  is  Cu.  Pompeius,  named  Magnus. 


216  Cbougbts.  [Book  VIIL 

man's  nature  demands,  do  that  without  turn- 
ing aside  ;  and  speak  as  it  seems  to  thee  most 
just,  only  let  it  he  with  a  good  disposition  and 
with  modesty  and  without  hypocrisy. 

6.  The  nature  of  the  universal  has  this  work 
to   do, — to  remove    to    that   place    the    things 
which   are   in   this,    to  change  them,    to  take, 
them   away  hence,    and  to  carry  them  there. 
All  things  are  change,  yet  we  need  not  fear 
anything  new.     All  things  are  familiar  [to  us]; 
but  the  distribution  of  them  still  remains  the 
same. 

7.  Ever}-   nature    is    contented   with    itself 
when  it  goes  on  its  way  well  :  and  a  rational 
nature    goes    on    its   way    well    when    in    its 
thoughts  it  assents  to  nothing  false  or  uncer- 
tain,  and  when    it   directs   its   movements   to 
social  acts  only,  and  when  it  confines  its  desires 
and  aversions  to  the  things  which  are  in  its 
power,  and  when  it  is  satisfied  with  everything 
that  is  assigned  to  it  by  the  common  nature. 
For  of  this  common   nature  every  particular 
nature  is  a  part,  as  the  nature  of  the  leaf  is  a 
part  of  the  nature  of  the  plant ;  except  that  in 
the  plant  the  nature  of  the  leaf  is  part  of  a 
nature  which   has   not   perception   or   reason, 
and  is  subject  to  be  impeded  ;   but  the  nature 
of  man  is  part  of  a  nature  which  is  not  subject 
to  impediments,   and    is   intelligent   and  just, 
since  it  gives  to  everything  in  equal  portions 
and  according  to  its  worth,  times,  substance, 
cause  [form],  activity,  and  incident.     But  ex- 


Book  viil.]  /fcarcus  aurcltns  Hntcninus. 


217 


amine,  not  to  discover  that  any  one  thing 
compared  with  any  other  single  thing  is  equal 
in  all  respects,  but  by  taking  all  the  parts  to- 
gether of  one  thing  and  comparing  them  with 
all  the  parts  together  of  another. 

8.  Thou  hast  not  leisure  [or  ability]  to  read. 
But  thou  hast  leisure  [or  ability]  to  check  arro- 
gance:  thou  hast  leisure  to  be  superior  to  pleas- 
ure and  pain:    thou  hast  leisure  to  be  superior 
to  love  of  fame,  and  not  to  be  vexed  at  stupid 
mid    ungrateful    people,   nay  even    to  care  for 
them. 

9.  Let  no  man  any  longer  hear  thee  finding 
fault  with  the  court  life  or  with  thy  own  (v. 
16). 

10.  Repentance  is  a  kind  of  sell-reproof  for 
having  neglected  something   useful;  but  that 
which  is  good  must  be  something  useful,  and 
the  perfect  good  man  should  look  after  it.     But 
no  such  man  would  ever  repent  of  having  re- 
fused any  sensual  pleasure.     Pleasure  then  is 
neither  good  nor  useful. 

11.  This  thing,  what  is  it  in  itself,  in  its  own 
constitution  ?     What  is  its  substance  and  mater- 
ial?    And  what   its  causal    nature  [or  form]? 
And  what  is  it  doing  in  the  world?     And  how 
long  does  it  subsist? 

12.  When  thou  risest  from  sleep  with  reluct- 
ance, remember  that  it  is  according  to  thy  con- 
stitution and  according  to  human  nature  to  per- 
form social  acts,  but  sleeping  is  common  also 
to  irrational  animals.     But  that  which  is  ac-- 


218  GbOUQbtS.  [BookVIIL 

cording  to  each  individual's  nature  is  also  more 
peculiarly  its  own,  and  more  suitable  to  its 
nature,  and  indeed  also  more  agreeable  (v.  i). 

13.  Constantly,  and,  if  it  be  possible,  on  the 
occasion  of  every  impression  on  the  soul,  apply 
to  it  the  principles  of  Physic,  of  Ethic,  and  of 
Dialectic. 

14.  Whatever  man  thou   meetest  with,  im- 
mediately say  to  thyself:    What  opinions  has 
this  man  about  good  and  bad  ?     For  if  with  re- 
spect to  pleasure  and  pain  and  the  causes  of 
each,  and  with  respect  to  fame  and  ignominy, 
death  and  life,  he  has  such  and  such  opinions, 
it  will  seem  nothing  wonderful  or  strange  to 
me  if  he  does  such  and  such  things;  and  I  shall 
bear  in  mind  that  he  is  compelled  to  do  so.* 

15.  Remember  that  as  it  is  a  shame  to  be 
surprised  if  the  fig-tree  produces  figs,  so  it  is  to 
be  surprised   if  the  world  produces   such  and 
such  things  of  which  it  is  productive;  and  for 
the  physician  and  the  helmsman  it  is  a  shame 
to  be  surprised  if  a  man  has  a  fever,  or  if  the 
wind  is  unfavorable. 

1 6.  Remember  that   to  change  thy  opinion 
and  to  follow  him  who  corrects  thy  error  is  as 
consistent  with  freedom  as  it  is  to  persist  in  thy 
error.     For  it  is  thy  own,  the  activity  which  is 
exerted  according  to  thy  own  movement  and 
judgment,  and  indeed  according  to  thy  own 
understanding  too. 

*  Antoninus  v.    16.     Thucydicles,   iii.    10;  h  yap   r< 
6ia/\,?.aaaov-i  r?/f  yvdyzr/f  Kal  ai  diatyopai  TUV  zpyuv 


Book  vni.]  flfcarcug  Bureltu0  Hntoninus.          219 

17.  If  a  thing  is  in  thy  own  power,  why  dost 
thou  do  it?  but  if  it  is  in  the  power  of  another, 
whom  dost  thou  blame, — the  atoms  [chance]  or 
the    gods?      Both    are    foolish.      Thou    must 
blame  nobody.     For  if  thou  canst,  correct  [that 
which  is  the  cause];  but  if  thou  canst  not  do 
this,  correct  at  least  the  thing  itself;  but  if  thou 
canst  not  do  even  this,  of  what  use  is  it  to  thee 
to  find  fault?  for  nothing  should  be  done  with- 
out a  purpose. 

1 8.  That  which  has  died  falls  not  out  of  the 
universe.     If  it  stays  here,  it  also  changes  here, 
and  is  dissolved  into  its  proper  parts,  which  are 
elements  of  the  universe  and  of  thyself.     And 
these  too  change,  and  they  murmur  not. 

19.  Everything  exists  for  some  end, — a  horse, 
a  vine.      Why  dost  thou  wonder?     Kven   the 
sun  will  say,  I  am   for  some  purpose,  and  the 
rest  of  the  gods  will  say  the  same.     For  what 
purpose    then    art    thou, — to   enjoy    pleasure? 
See  if  common  sense  allows  this. 

20.  Nature  has  had  regard  in  everything  no 
less  to  the  end  than  to  the  beginning  and  the 
continuance,  just  like  the  man  who  throws  up 
a  ball.     What  good  is  it  then  for  the  ball  to  be 
thrown   up,   or  harm   for  it  to  come  down,  or 
even  to  have  fallen  ?  and  what  good  is  it  to  the 
bubble  while  it  holds  together,  or  what  harm 
when  it  is  burst  ?     The  same  may  be  said  of  a 
light  also. 

21.  Turn  it  [the  body]  inside  out,  and  see 
what   kind   of  thing   it   is;  and   when    it  has 


220  Gbouabts.  [Bookm 

grown  old,  what  kind  of  thing  it  becomes,  and 
when  it  is  diseased. 

Short  lived  are  both  the  praiser  and  the 
praised,  and  the  rememberer  and  the  remem- 
bered: and  all  this  in  a  nook  of  this  part  of  the 
world;  and  not  even  here  do  all  agree,  no,  not 
any  one  with  himself :  and  the  whole  earth  too 
is  a  point. 

22.  Attend  to   the   matter  which  is   before 
thee,   whether  it  is  an  opinion  or  an  act  or  a 
word. 

Thou  sufferest  this  justly  :  for  thou  choosest 
rather  to  become  good  to-morrow  than  to  be 
good  to-day. 

23.  Am    I    doing   anything?     I    do  it  with 
reference  to  the  good  of  mankind.     Docs  any- 
thing happen  to  me  ?     I  receive  it  and  refer  it 
to  the  gods,  and  the  source  of  all  things,  from 
which  all  that  happens  is  derived. 

24.  Such  as  bathing  appears  to  thee, — oil, 
sweat,  dirt,  filthy  water,  all  things  disgusting, 
— so  is  every  part  of  life  and  everything. 

25.  Lucilla  saw  Verus  die,  and  then  Lucilla 
died.     Secunda  saw   Maximus  die,    and   then 
Secunda    died.     Epitynchanus   saw    Diotimus 
die,  and  then  Kpitynchanus  died.     Antoninus 
saw   Faustina  die,    and  then  Antoninus  died. 
Such  is  everything.     Celer  saw  Hadrianus  die, 
and  then  Celer  died.     And  those  sharp-witted 
men,   either  seers  or  men  inflated  with  pride, 
where  are  they, — for  instance  the  sharp-witted 
men,  Charax  and  Demetrius  the  Platonist,  and 


Book  VIII.]   /IRarcus  Hurclius  Bntoninus.  221 


Eudaenion,  and  any  one  else  like  them  ?  All 
ephemeral,  dead  long  ago.  Some  indeed  have 
not  been  remembered  even  for  a  short  time, 
and  others  have  become  the  heroes  of  fables, 
and  again  others  have  disappeared  even  from 
fables.  Remember  this  then,  that  this  little 
compound,  thyself,  must  either  be  dissolved,  or 
thy  poor  breath  must  be  extinguished,  or  be 
removed  and  placed  elsewhere. 

26.  It  is  satisfaction  to  a  man  to  do  the 
proper  works  of  a  man.  Now  it  is  a  proper 
work  of  a  man  to  be  benevolent  to  his  own  kind, 
to  despise  the  movements  of  the  senses,  to  form 
a  just  judgment  of  plausible  appearances,  and 
to  take  a  survey  of  the  nature  of  the  universe 
and  ot  the  things  which  happen  in  it. 

2~ .  There  are  three  relations  [between  thee 
and  other  things]  :  the  one  to  the  body*  which 
surrounds  thee  ;  the  second  to  the  divine  cause 
from  which  all  things  come  to  all  ;  and  the 
third  to  those  who  live  with  thee. 

28.  Pain  is  either  an  evil  to  the  body — then 
let  the  body  say  what  it  thinks  of  it — or  to  the 
soul  ;  but  it  is  in  the  power  of  the  soul  to  main- 
tain its  own  serenity  and  tranquillity,  and  not 
to  think  that  pain  is  an  evil.  For  every  judg- 
ment and  movement  and  desire  and  aversion  is 
within,  and  110  evil  ascends  so  high. 

*  The  text  has  al-im\  which  in  Antoninus  means 
"form,"  "formal."  Accordingly  Scliult/.  recom- 
mends either Yalkenaer's  emendation  «;  yelov,  "body," 
or  Corals'  cuudrnir.  Compare  xii.  13;  x.  38. 


222  abougbts.  [Book  vra. 

29.  Wipe    out    thy    imaginations   by   often 
saying  to  thyself :  Now  it  is  in  my  power  to  let 
no  badness  be  in  this  soul,  nor  desire,  nor  any 
perturbation  at  all  ;  but  looking  at  all  things  I 
see  what  is  their  nature,  and  I  use  each  accord- 
ing to  its  value. — Remember  this  power  which 
thou  hast  from  nature. 

30.  Speak  both  in  the  senate  and  to  even- 
man,   whoever  he  may  be,   appropriately,  not 
with  any  affectation  :  use  plain  discourse. 

31.  Augustus'     court,    wife,    daughter,     de- 
scendants, ancestors,  sister,  Agrippa,  kinsmen, 
intimates,   friends;  Areius/':  Maecenas,   physi- 
cians, and  sacrificing  priests, — the  whole  court 
is  dead.      Then  turn  to  the  rest,  not  con.Mder- 
ing  the  death  of  a  single  man  [but  of  a  whole 
race],  a^  of  the  Pompeii  ;  and  that  which  is  in- 
scribed on  the  tombs, — The   last  of  his  race. 
Then  consider  what  trouble  those  before  them 
have  had  that  they  might  leave  a  successor  ; 
and  then,  that  of  necessity  some  one  must  be 
the  last.     Again,  here  consider  the  death  of  a 
whole  race. 

32.  It  is  thy  duty  to  order  thy  life  well  in 
every  single  act ;  and  if  every  act  does  its  duty 
as  far  as  is  possible,  be  content  ;  and  no  one  is 
able  to  hinder  thee  so  that  each  act  shall  no<- 
do    its    duty. — But    something    external    will 
stand    in   the   way.       Nothing   will    stand    in 

*  Areius  ("Apt/or]  \vas  a  philosopher,  who  was  inti- 
mate with  Augustus;  vSueton.  Augustus,  c.  89;  Plu- 
tarch, Antoninus,  80;  D'on  Cassins,  51,  c.  16. 


Book  VIII.]    /fcarcus  Burclius?  Hntonlnus.          22  $ 

the  way  of  thy  acting  justly  and  soberly 
and  considerately. — But  perhaps  some  other 
active  power  will  be  hindered.  Well,  but 
by  acquiescing  in  the  hindrance  and  by  be- 
ing content  to  transfer  thy  efforts  to  that  which 
is  allowed,  another  opportunity  of  action  is  im- 
mediately put  before  thee  in  place  of  that 
which  was  hindered,  and  one  which  will  adapt 
itself  to  this  ordering  of  which  we  are  speak- 
ing. 

33.  Receive   [wealth   or  prosperity]  without 
arrogance  ;   and   be  ready  to  let  it  go. 

34.  If  thon  didst  ever  see  a  hand  cut  off,  or 
a  foot,  or  a   head,  lying   anywhere   apart   from 
the  rest  of  the  body,  such   does  a  man    make 
himself,  as   far   as  lie   can,  who  is  not  content 
with    what     happens,    and    separates    himself 
from  others,  or  does  anything  unsocial.      Sup- 
pose that  thou   hast  detached  thyself  from  the 
natural   unity, — for  thou  wast  made  by  nature 
a  part,  but  now  thon  hast  cut  thyself  off. — yet 
here  there  is  this  beautiful  provision,  that  it  is 
in  thy  power  again  to  unite  thyself.      God  has 
allowed  this  to  no  other  part,  after  it  has  been 
separated   and   cut   asunder,  to  come   together 
again.      But   consider   the   kindness  by  which 
he  has  distinguished  man,  for  he  has  put  it  in 
his  power  not  to  be  separated  at  all  from  the 
universal  ;  and  when   he  has  been   separated, 
he  has  allowed   him  to  return  and  to  be  united 
and  to  resume  his  place  as  a  part. 

35.  As  the  nature  of  the  universal  has  given. 


224  vTbOligbtS.  [BookVIIL 

to  every  rational  being  all  the  other  powers 
that  it  has,+  so  we  have  received  from  it  this 
power  also.  For  as  the  universal  nature  con- 
verts and  fixes  in  its  predestined  place  every- 
thing which  stands  in  the  way  and  opposes  it, 
and  makes  such  things  a  part  of  itself,  so  also 
the  rational  animal  is  able  to  make  every 
hindrance  its  own  material,  and  ^o  use  it  for 
such  purposes  as  it  may  have  designed. * 

36.  Do  not  disturb  thyself  by  thinking  of 
the  whole  of  thy  life.     Let  not  thy  thoughts  at 
once  embrace  all  the  various  troubles  which 
thou    rnayest   expect   to  befall    thee  :    but  on 
ever}-  occasion  ask  thyself,  What  is  there  in 
this  which  is  intolerable  and  past  bearing  ?  for 
thou  wilt  be  ashamed  to  confess.      In  the  next 
place  remember  that  neither  the  future  nor  the 
past  pains    thee,   but  only  the   present.     But 
this  is  reduced  to  a  very  little,  if  thou  only  cir- 
cumscribest  it,  and  chidest  thy  mind   if  it  is 
unable  to  hold  out  against  even  this. 

37.  Does  Panthea  or  Pergamus  now  sit  by 
the  tomb  of  Vents  ?t     Does  Chaurias  or  Dioti- 
mus   sit   by   the    tomb   of  Hadrianus?     That 
would  be  ridiculous.     Well,  suppose  they  did 

*  The  text  is  corrupt  at  the  beginning  of  the  para- 
graph, hut  the  meaning  will  appear  if  the  second 
?j)-/tK<~n>  is  changed  into  <v<.n>:  though  this  chanye  alone 
will  not  establish  the  grammatical  completeness  of 
the  text. 

f  "  Verus  "  is  a  conjecture  of  Saumaise,  and  per- 
haps  the  true  reading. 


Book  Vlll.]    Marcus  aurclius  Sntoninus.  225 

sit  there,  would  the  dead  he  conscious  of  it? 
and  it  the  dead  \vere  conscious,  would  they  be 
pleased?  and  it  they  were  pleased,  would  that 
make  them  immortal  ?  Was  it  not  in  the  order 
of  destiny  that  these  persons  too  should  first 
become  old  women  ami  old  men  and  then  die? 
What  then  would  those  do  after  these  were 
dead  ?  All  this  is  foul  smell  and  blood  in  a 
bag. 

38.  If  thou  canst  see  sharp,  look   and  judge 
wisely,  +  says  the  philosopher. 

39.  In  the  constitution  of  the  rational  animal 
I  see  no  virtue  which  is  opposed  to  justice;  but 
I    see    a    virtue    which    is   opposed   to    love  of 
pleasure,  and  that  is  temperance. 

40.  If  thou  takest  away   thy  opinion  about 
that  which  appears  to  give  thee  pain,  thou  thy- 
self standest   in  perfect   security. — Who  i-  this 
self? — The  reason.  —  But  I  am  not  reason.  —  lic- 
it so.      Let   then    the  reason   itself  not  trouble 
itself.      But   if  any   other  part  of  thee  suffers, 
let  it  have  its  own  opinion  about  itself  <  vii.  16  ). 

41.  Hindrance  to  the  perceptions  of  sense  is 
an   evil  to  the   animal  nature.      Hindrance  to 
the  movements  [desires]   is  equally  an  evil  to 
the  animal   nature.      And  something  else  also 
is  equally   an   impediment   and  an   evil   to  the 
constitution  of  plants.     So  then  that  which  is 
a  hindrance  to  the  intelligence  is  an  evil  to  the 
intelligent    nature.       Apply    all    these    things 
then  to  thyself.     Does  pain  or  sensuous  pleas- 
ure affect  thee  ?     The  senses  will  look  to  that. 

15 


226  GbOUgbtS.  [BookVIIL 

Has  any  obstacle  opposed  thee  in  thy  efforts 
towards  an  object  ?  If  indeed  thou  wast  mak- 
ing this  effort  absolutely  [unconditionally,  or 
without  any  reservation],  certainly  this  obstacle 
is  an  evil  to  thee  considered  as  a  rational  ani- 
mal. But  if  thou  takest  [into  consideration] 
the  usual  course  of  things,  thou  hast  not  yet 
been  injured  nor  even  impeded.  The  things 
however  which  are  proper  to  the  understanding 
no  other  man  is  used  to  impede,  for  neither 
fire,  nor  iron,  nor  tyrant,  nor  abuse,  touches  it 
in  any  way.  When  it  has  been  made  a  sphere, 
it  continues  a  sphere  (xi.  12). 

42.  It  is  not  fit  that  I  should  give  myself 
pain,  for  I  have  never  intentionally  given  pain 
even  to  another. 

43.  Different  things  delight  different  people  ; 
but  it  is  my  delight  to  keep  the  ruling  faculty 
sound  without  turning  away  either  from  any 
man  or  from  any  of  the  things  which  happen 
to  men,  but  looking  at  and  receiving  all  with 
welcome  eyes  and  using  everything  according 
to  its  value. 

44.  See  that  thou  secure  this  present  time  to 
thyself :  for  those  who  rather  pursue  posthum- 
ous fame  do  not  consider  that  the  men  of  after 
time  will  be  exactly  such  as  these  whom  they 
cannot  bear  now ;  and  both  are  mortal.     And 
what  is  it  in  any  way  to  thee  if  these  men  of 
after  time  utter  this  or  that  sound,  or  have  this 
or  that  opinion  about  thee  ? 

45.  Take  me  and  cast  me  where  thou  wilt; 


Book  VIII.]  Marcus  Burclius  Bntoninus.  227 

for  there  I  shall  keep  my  divine  part  tranquil, 
that  is,  content,  if  it  can  feel  and  act  comform- 
ably  to  its  proper  constitution.  Is  this  [change 
of  place]  sufficient  reason  why  my  soul  should 
be  unhappy  and  worse  than  it  was.  depressed, 
expanded,  shrinking,  affrighted  ?  and  what 
wilt  thou  find  which  is  sufficient  reason  for 
this  ?* 

46.  Nothing  can  happen  to  any  man  which 
is  not  a  human  accident,  nor  to  an  ox  which  is 
not  according  to  the  nature  of  an  ox,  nor  to  a 
vine  which  is  not  according  to  the  nature  of  a 
vine,  nor  to  a  stone  which  is  not  proper  to  a 
stone.      If  then   there   happens   to  each   thing 
both  what  is  usual  and  natural,  why  shouldst 
thou    complain  ?      For    the    common     nature 
brings   nothing   which    may   not   be   borne   by 
thee. 

47.  If    thou    art     pained     by     any    external 
thing,  it  is  not  this  thing  that  disturbs  thee, 
but  thy  own  judgment  about  it.    And  it  is  in  thy 
power  to  wipe  out  this  judgment  now.      But  if 
anything   in    thy   own    disposition    gives   thee 
pain,    who    hinders   thee   from   correcting   tin- 
opinion  ?     And    even    if   thou    art    pained   be- 
cause thou  art  not  doing  some  particular  thing 
which   seems   to  thee    to   be   right,    why    dost 
thou  not  rather  act  than  complain  ? — But  some 

*ow;->//,M7/  in  this  passage  seems  to  have  a  passive 
sense.  It  is  difficult  to  find  an  apt  expression  for  it 
and  some  of  the  other  words.  A  comparison  with  xi. 
12,  will  help  to  explain  the  meaning. 


228  Gbougbts.  [Book  VUL 

insuperable  obstacle  is  in  the  way  ? — Do  not  be 
grieved  then,  for  the  cause  of  its  not  being 
done  depends  not  on  thee. — But  it  is  not  worth 
\vhile  to  live,  if  this  cannot  be  done. — Take 
thy  departure  then  from  life  contentedly,  just 
as  he  dies  who  is  in  full  activity,  and  well 
pleased  too  with  the  things  which  are  ob- 
stacles. 

48.  Remember  that  the  ruling  faculty  is  in- 
vincible, when  self-collected  it  is  satisfied  with 
itself,   if  it  does  nothing    which    it   does    not 
choose  to  do,  even  if  it  resist  from  mere  obsti- 
nacy.    What  then  will  it  be  when  it  forms  a 
judgment  about  anything  aided  by  reason  and 
deliberately  ?     Therefore   the    mind    which    is 
free  from  passions  is  a  citadel,  for  man  has  no- 
thing more  secure    to    which    he   can    fly    for 
refuge  and   for   the    future    be    inexpugnable. 
He  then  who  has  not  seen  this  is  an  ignorant 
man  ;  but  he  who  has  seen  it  and  does  not  fly 
to  this  refuge  is  unhappy. 

49.  Say  nothing  more  to  thyself  than  what 
the  first  appearances  report.     Suppose  that  it 
has  been  reported  to  thee  that  a  certain  person 
speaks  ill  of  thee.      This   lias   been    reported  ; 
but  that  thou  hast  been  injured,  that  lias  not 
been  reported.     I  see  that  my  child  is  sick.     I 
do  see  ;  but  that  he  is  in  danger,  I  do  not  see. 
Thus  then   always  abide  by  the  first  appear- 
ances, and  add   nothing  thyself  from  within, 
and  then  nothing  happens  to  thee.     Or  ra'iher 
add  something  like  a  man  who  knows  every- 
thing that  happens  in  the  world. 


Book  VIII.]  /Hbarcus  Hurclius  antonfnus.  229 

50.  A  cucumber  is  bitter — Throw  it  away. — 
There  are  briers  in  the  road — Turn  aside  from 
them. — This    is    enough.      Do    not    add,    And 
why  were    such    things    made    in    the  world? 
For  thou  wilt   be-  ridiculed    by  a  man  who  is 
acquainted   with   nature,    as  thou   \vouldst   be 
ridiculed  by  a  carpenter  and  shoemaker  if  thou 
didst    find    fault   because,    thou   seest   in    their 
workshop    shavings    and    cuttings    from     the 
things  which   they  make.      And  yet  they  have 
places  into  which   they  can   throw  these  shav- 
ings and  cuttings,  and  the  universal  nature  has 
no  external  space  ;    but  the  wondrous  part  of 
her  art  is  that   though  she  has  circumscribed 
hcrselt,  everything   within   her  which   appears 
to  decay  and  to  grow  old  and  to  be  useless  she 
changes   into   herself,  and  again   makes  other 
new  things  from   these  very  same,  so  that  she 
requires   neither   substance   from   without   nor 
wants  a   place   into  which   she  may  cast  that 
which  decays.      She   is  content   then  with   her 
own  space,  and  her  own  matter,  and  her  own 
art. 

51.  Neither  in    thy   actions  be  sluggish  nor 
in  thy  conversation  without  method,  nor  wan- 
dering in  thy  thoughts,  nor  let  there  be  in  tin- 
soul   inward  contention  nor  external  effusion, 
nor  in  life  be  so  busy  as  to  have  no  leisure. 

Suppose  that  men  kill  thee,  cut  thee  in 
pieces,  curse  thee.  What  then  can  these  things 
do  to  prevent  thy  mind  from  remaining  pure, 
wise,  sober,  just?  For  instance,  if  a  man 


230  GbOUfibtS.  [Book  VIE 

should  stand  by  a  limpid  pure  spring,  and 
curse  it,  the  spring  never  ceases  sending  up 
potable  water  ;  and  if  he  should  cast  clay  into 
it  or  filth,  it  will  speedily  disperse  them  and 
wash  them  out,  and  will  not  be  at  all  polluted. 
How  then  shalt  thou  possess  a  perpetual  fount- 
ain [and  not  a  mere  well]  ?  By  forming  +  thy- 
self hourly  to  freedom  conjoined  with  content- 
ment, simplicity,  and  modesty. 

52.  He  who  does  not  know  what  the  world 
is,  does  not  know  where  he  is.     And  he  who 
does   not  know  for  what   purpose  the  world 
exists,  does  not  know  who  he  is,  nor  what  the 
world  is.     But  he  who  has  failed  in  any  one 
of  these  things  could  not  even  say  for  what 
purpose  he  exists  himself.     What  then   dost 
thou  think  of  him  who  [avoids  or]  seeks  the 
praise  of  those  who  applaud,  of  men  who  know 
not  either  where  they  are  or  who  they  are  ? 

53.  Dost  thou  wish  to  be  praised  by  a  man 
who  curses  himself  thrice  every  hour  ?  wouldst 
thou  wish  to  please  a  man  who  does  not  please 
himself?     Does  a  man  please  himself  who  re- 
pents of  nearly  everything  that  he  does? 

54.  No  longer  let  thy  breathing  only  act  in 
concert  with  the  air  which  surrounds  thee,  but 
let  thy  intelligence   also  now  be  in  harmony 
with    the     intelligence    which     embraces    all 
things.     For  the  intelligent  power  is  no  less 
diffused  in  all  parts  and  pervades  all  things  for 
him  who  is  willing  to  draw  it  to  him  than  the 
aerial  power  for  him  who  is  able  to  respire  it. 


Book  viii.j   /Barcu0  Hurelfua  Bntonfnus.         231 

55.  Generally,   wickedness  does  no  harm  at 
all  to  the  universe  ;  and  particularly  the  wick- 
edness [of  one  man]  does  no  harm  to  another. 
It   is  only   harmful   to   him   who  has   it   in  his 
power  to  be  released  from  it  as  soon  as  he  shall 
choose. 

56.  To  my  own  free  will  the  free  will  of  my 
neighbor   is  just    as   indifferent    as    his    poor 
breath  and  flesh.     For  though  \ve  are  made  es- 
pecially for   the  sake  of  one  another,  still   th<? 
ruling  power  of  each  of  us  has  its  own  office, 
for  otherwise  my  neighbor's  wickedness  would 
be    my   harm,  which   God   has  not  willed,   in 
order  that  my  unhappiness  may  not  depend  on 
another. 

57.  The  sun  appears  to  be  poured  down,  and 
in  all  directions  indeed  it  is  diffused,  yet  it  is 
not  effused.      For  this  diffusion   is  extension  : 
Accordingly    its    rays    are    called     Kxtensions 
[.nvT/rtr]    because     they     are    extended    [,',-u  rou 
fKTeivecflai].*     But  one  may  judge  what  kind  of  a 
thing  a  ray  is,  if  he   looks   at   the  sun's  light 
passing  through  a  narrow  opening  into  a  dark- 
ened room,  for  it  is  extended  in  a  right  line, 
and   as  it  were  is  divided  when  it  meets  with 
an}'  solid    body  which  stands  in  the  way  and 
intercepts  the  air  beyond  ;  but  there  the  light 
remains  fixed    and  does  not   glide  or  fall  off. 
Such  then  ought  to  be  the  outpouring  and  dif- 
fusion of  the  understanding,  and  it  should  in 
no  way  be  an  effusion,  but  an  extension,  and 

*  A  piece  of  bad  etymology. 


232  {TbOUflbtS.  [Book  YTH 

it  should  make  no  violent  or  impetuous  col- 
lision with  the  obstacles  which  are  in  its  way  ; 
nor  yet  fall  down,  but  be  fixed,  and  enlighten 
that  which  receives  it.  For  a  body  will  deprive 
itself  of  the  illumination,  if  it  does  not  admit  it. 

58.  He  who  fears  death  either  fears  the  loss 
of  sensation  or  a  different  kind  of  sensation. 
But  if  thou  shalt  have  no  sensation,  neither 
wilt  thou   feel   any  harm  ;    and   if  thou   shalt 
acquire  another  kind  of  sensation,  L>>u  wilt  be 
a  different  kind  of  living  being  and  thou  wilt 
not  cease  to  live. 

59.  Men  exist  for  the  sake  of  one  another. 
Teach  them  then,  or  bear  with  them. 

60.  In  one  way  an  arrow  moves,  in  another 
way  the  mind.     The  mind  indeed,  both  when 
it  exercises  caution  and  when  it  is  employed, 
about  inquiry,  moves  straight  onward  not  the 
less,  and  to  its  object. 

61.  Knter  into  even- man's  ruling  faculty; 
and  also  let  every  other  man  enter  into  thine.* 

*  Compare  Epictetus,  iii.  9,  12. 


Book  IX.]     /foarcus  Buuclfus  Sntonfnus.  233 


HK  who  acts  unjiistlv  acts  impiously.  For 
since  the-  universal  nature  has  made  ra- 
tional animals  for  the  sake  of  one  another,  to 
help  one  another  according  to  their  deserts, 
but  in  no  way  to  injure  one  another,  he  who 
transgresses  her  will  is  clearly  guilty  of  impi- 
ety towards  the  highest  divinity.  And  he  too 
who  lies  is  guilty  of  impiety  to  the  same  divin- 
ity; for  the  universal  nature  is  the  nature  of 
things  that  are;  and  things  that  are  have  a  re- 
lation to  all  things  that  come  into  existence.* 

*  "As  there  is  not  any  action  or  natural  event,  which 
•we  are  acquainted  with,  so  single  and  unconnected  as 
not  to  have  a  respect  to  sonic  other  actions  and  events., 
so  possibly  each  of  tin.1!:;,  when  it  has  not  an  immedi- 
ate, may  yet  have  a  re-mole,  natural  relation  to  other 
actions  and  events,  much  beyond  the  compass  of  this 
present  world."  Again:  "  Things  seemingly  the  most 
insignificant  imaginable  are  perpetually  observed  to 
be  necessary  conditions  toother  things  of  the  greatest 
importance,  so  that  any  one1  tiling  whatever  may,  for 
aught  we  know  to  the  contrary,  be  a  necessary  condi- 
tion to  any  other." — Sutler's  Analogv,  Chap.  7.  See 
all  the  chapter.  Some  critics  taker/;  r-i'ip  \iirrii  in  this 
passage  of  Antoninus  to  be  the  same  as  ~>'i  <">rru :  but  if 
that  were  so  he  might  have  said  T/I-V  ,Y/./.!,/.a  instead  of 
:r/m<;  rii  inrapxorra.  Perhaps  the  meaning  of  ~/jof  ra 
i'-iip_\-nrr(i  may  be  "to  all  prior  things."  If  so,  the 
translation  is  still  correct.  See  vi.  ,}S. 


234  tlbougbts.  [Book  IX. 

And  further,  this  universal  nature  is  named 
truth,  and  is  the  prime  cause  of  all  things  that 
are  true.  He  then  who  lies  intentionally  is 
guilty  of  impiety,  inasmuch  as  he  acts  unjustly 
by  deceiving;  and  he  also  who  lies  uninten- 
tionally, inasmuch  as  he  is  at  variance  with  the 
universal  nature,  and  inasmuch  as  he  disturbs 
the  order  by  fighting  against  the  nature  of  the 
world;  for  he  fights  against  it,  who  is  moved 
of  himself  to  that  which  is  contrary  to  truth, 
for  he  had  received  powers  from  nature  through 
the  neglect  of  which  he  is  not  able  now  to  dis- 
tinguish falsehood  from  truth.  And  indeed  he 
who  pursues  pleasure  as  good,  and  avoids  paiu 
as  evil,  is  guilty  of  impiety.  For  of  necessity 
such  a  man  must  often  find  fault  with  the  uni- 
versal nature,  alleging  that  it  assigns  things  to 
the  bad  and  the  good  contrary  to  their  deserts, 
because  frequently  the  bad  are  in  the  enjo}r- 
ment  of  pleasure  and  possess  the  things  which 
procure  pleasure,  but  the  good  have  pain  for 
their  share  and  the  things  which  cause  pain. 
And  further,  he  who  is  afraid  of  pain  will 
sometimes  also  be  afraid  of  some  of  the  things 
which  will  happen  in  the  world,  and  even  this 
is  impiety.  And  he  who  pursues  pleasure  will 
not  abstain  from  injustice,  and  this  is  plainly 
impiety.  Now  with  respect  to  the  things 
towards  which  the  universal  nature  is  equally 
affected — for  it  would  not  have  made  both,  un- 
less it  was  equally  affected  towards  both — • 
towards  these  they  who  wish  to  follow  nature 


Book  IX.]     flfcarcus  HurcHus  Bntonfnus.  235 

should  be  of  the  same  mind  with  it,  and  equally 
affected.  With  respect  to  pain,  then,  and 
pleasure,  or  death  and  life,  or  honor  and  dis- 
honor, which  the  universal  nature  employs 
equally,  whoever  is  not  equally  affected  is 
manifestly  acting  impiously.  And  I  say  that 
the  universal  nature  employs  them  equally, 
instead  of  saying  that  they  happen  alike  to 
those  who  are  produced  in  continuous  series 
and  to  those  who  come  after  them  by  virtue  of 
a  certain  original  movement  of  Providence, 
according  to  which  it  moved  from  a  certain 
beginning  to  this  ordering  of  things,  having 
conceived  certain  principles  of  the  things  which 
were  to  be.  and  having  determined  powers  pro- 
ductive of  beings  and  of  changes  and  of  such 
like  successions  (vii.  75). 

2.  It  would  be  a  man's  happiest  lot  to  depart 
from  mankind  without  having  had  any  taste 
of  lying  and  hypocrisy  and  luxury  and  pride. 
However,  to  breathe  out  one's  life  when  a  man 
has  had  enough  of  these  things  is  the  next  best 
voyage,  as  the  saying  is.  Hast  thou  deter- 
mined to  abide  with  vice,  and  hast  not  exper- 
ience yet  induced  thee  to  fly  from  this  pesti- 
lence? For  the  destruction  of  the  understand- 
ing is  a  pestilence,  much  more,  indeed,  than 
any  such  corruption  and  change  of  this  atmos- 
phere which  surrounds  us.  For  this  corruption 
is  a  pestilence  of  animals  so  far  as  they  are 
animals  ;  but  the  other  is  a  pestilence  of  men 
so  far  as  thev  are  men. 


236  £bOUC?btS.  [Book  IX. 

3.  Do  not  despise  death,  but  be  well  content 
with  it,  since  this  too  is  one  of  those  things 
which  nature  wills.  For  such  as  it  is  to  be 
young  and  to  grow  old,  and  to  increase  and 
to  reach  maturity,  and  to  have  teeth  and  beard 
and  gray  hairs,  and  to  beget  and  to  be  preg- 
nant and  to  bring  forth,  and  all  the  other 
natural  operations  which  the  seasons  of  tin- 
life  bring,  such  also  is  dissolution.  This,  then, 
is  consistent  with  the  character  of  a  reflecting 
man — to  be  neither  careless  nor  impatient  nor 
contemptuous  with  respect  to  death,  but  to 
wait  for  it  as  one  of  the  operations  of  nature. 
As  thou  now  waitest  for  the  time  when  the 
child  shall  come  out  of  thy  wife's  womb,  so  be 
ready  for  the  time  when  thy  soul  shall  fall  out 
of  this  envelope. *  But  if  thou  requirest  also  a 
vulgar  kind  of  comfort  which  shall  reach  thy 
heart,  thou  wilt  be  made  best  reconciled  to 
death  by  observing  the  objects  from  which 
thou  art  going  to  be  removed,  and  the  morals 
of  those  with  whom  thy  soul  will  no  longer  be 
mingled.  For  it  is  no  way  right  to  be  offended 
with  men,  but  it  is  thy  duty  to  care  for  them 
and  to  bear  with  them  gently;  and  yet  to  re- 
member that  thy  departure  will  not  be  from 
men  who  have  the  same  principles  as  thyself. 
For  this  is  the  only  thing,  if  there  be  any, 
which  could  draw  us  the  contrary  way  and  at- 
tach us  to  life, — to  be  permitted  to  live  with 
those  who  have  the  same  principles  as  our- 

*  Note  i  of  the-  Philosophy,  p.  76. 


Book  IX.]     /toarcus?  aurclius  Bntoninus.          237 

selves.  P>ut  now  thou  Sees!  how  great  is  the 
troul)le  arising  from  the  discordance  of  those 
who  live  together,  so  that  thou  mayst  say, 
Come  quick,  ()  death,  lest  perchance  I,  too, 
should  forget  myself. 

4.  He  who   does  wrong  does  wrong  against 
himself.      lie  who  acts  unjustly  acts  unjustly  to 
himself,  because  he  makes  himself  bad. 

5.  lie  often  acts  unjustly  who  does  not  do  a 
certain  thing;   not  only  he  who  does  a  certain 
thing. 

6.  Thy  present   opinion    founded    on    under- 
standing, and   thy  present  conduct  directed   to 
social  good,  and  thy  present  disposition  of  con- 
tentment with  everything  which  happens  L  - 
that  is  enough. 

7.  \Yipe  out   imagination;  check  desire:  ex- 
tingui^h  appetite:  keep  the  ruling  faculty  in  its 
own  power. 

S.    Among  the  animals  which  have  not  reason 
one   life  is   distributed:   but  among  reasonable 


as  there  is  one  earth  of  all  things  which  are  of 
an  earthly  nature,  and  we  see  by  one  light,  and 
breathe  one  air.  all  of  us  that  have  the  faculty 
of  vision  and  all  that  have  life. 

9.  All  things  which  participate  in  anything 
which  is  common  to  them  all,  move  towards 
that  which  is  of  the  same  kind  with  themselves. 
Kverything  which  is  earthy  turns  towards  the 
earth,  everything  which  is  liquid  flows  to- 
gether, and  everything  which  is  of  an  aerial 


238  Cbougbts.  [Book  ix. 

kind  does  the  same,  so  that  they  require  some- 
thing to  keep  them  asunder,  and  the  applica- 
tion of  force.  Fire  indeed  moves  upwards  on 
account  of  the  elemental  fire,  but  it  is  so  ready 
to  be  kindled  together  with  all  the  fire  which 
is  here,  that  even  every  substance  which  is 
somewhat  dry  is  easily  ignited,  because  there 
is  less  mingled  with  it  of  that  which  is  a  hin- 
drance to  ignition.  Accordingly,  then,  every- 
thing also  which  participates  in  the  common 
intelligent  nature  moves  in  like  manner  to- 
wards that  which  is  of  the  same  kind  with 
itself,  or  moves  even  more.  For  so  much  as  it 
is  superior  in  comparison  with  all  other  things, 
in  the  same  degree  also  is  it  more  ready  to  min- 
gle with  and  to  be  fused  with  that  which  is 
akin  to  it.  Accordingly  among  animals  devoid 
of  reason  we  find  swarms  of  bees,  and  herds  of 
cattle,  and  the  nurture  of  young  birds,  and  in 
a  manner,  loves;  for  even  in  animals  there  are 
souls,  and  that  power  which  brings  them  to- 
gether is  seen  to  exert  itself  in  a  superior  de- 
gree, and  in  such  a  way  as  never  has  been 
observed  in  plants  nor  in  stones  nor  in  trees. 
But  in  rational  animals  there  are  political  com- 
munities and  friendships,  and  families  and 
meetings  of  people;  and  in  wars,  treaties,  and 
armistices.  But  in  the  things  which  are  still 
superior,  even  though  they  are  separated  from 
«Diie  another,  unity  in  a  manner  exists,  as  in  the 
stars.  Thus  the  ascent  to  the  higher  degree  is 
able  to  produce  a  sympathy  even  in  things 


Book  IX.]     rtbarcus  Burelfus  Hntoninus.          239 

which  arc  separated.  Sec,  then,  what  non- 
takes  place;  for  only  intelligent  animals  have 
now  forgotten  this  mutual  desire  and  inclina- 
tion, and  in  them  alone  the  property  of  flowing 
together  is  not  seen.  But  still,  though  men 
strive  to  avoid  [this  union],  they  are  caught 
and  held  by  it,  for  their  nature  is  too  strong  for 
them;  and  them  wilt  sec  what  I  say,  if  thou 
only  observest.  Sooner,  then,  will  one  find 
anything  earthy  which  comes  in  contact  with 
no  earthy  thing,  than  a  man  altogether  sepa- 
rated from  other  men. 

10.  Both  man  and  God  and  the  universe  pro- 
duce fruit  ;  at  the  proper  seasons  each  produces 
it.      But  and  if  usage  has  especially  fixed  these 
terms  to  the  vine  and  like  things,  this  is  noth- 
ing.    Reason  produces  fruit  both  for  all  and  for 
itself,    and    there  are  produced    from    it  other 
things  of  the  same  kind  as  reason  itself. 

11.  If    thou    art    able,    correct    by    teaching 
those  who  do  wrong;  but  if  thou  canst  not,  re- 
member that    indulgence  is  given  to  thee  for 
this  purpose.     And  the  gods,  too,  are  indulgent 
to  such  persons  ;  and  for  some  purposes  they 
even  help  them  to  get  health,  wealth,  reputa- 
tion; so  kind  they  are.     And  it  is  in  thy  power 
also;  or  say,  who  hinders  thee? 

12.  Labor  not  as  one  who  is  wretched,  uor 
yet  as  one  who  would  be  pitied  or  admired  ; 
but  direct  thy  will  to  one  thing  only — to  put 
thyself  in  motion  and  to  check  thyself,  as  the 
social  reason  requires. 


240  abouflbts.  [Book  IX. 

13.  To-cla}^  I  have  got  out  of  all  trouble,  or 
rather  I  have  cast  out  all  trouble,  for  it  was  not 
outside,  but  within  and  in  my  opinions. 

14.  All  things  are  the  same,  familiar  in  ex- 
perience, and  ephemeral  in  time,  and  worthless 
in  the  matter.     Everything  now  is  just  as  it 
was  in  the  time  of  those  whom  we  have  buried. 

15.  Things  stand  outside  of  us,  themselves 
by  themselves,  neither  knowing  aught  of  them- 
selves,  nor  expressing  any  judgment.     What 
is   it,    then,    which    does  judge    about   them  ? 
The  ruling  faculty. 

16.  Not  in  passivity  but  in  activity  lie  the 
evil  and  the  good  of  the  rational  social  animal, 
just  as  his  virtue  and  his  vice  lie  not  in  pas- 
sivity but  in  activity. * 

17.  For  the  stone  which  has  been  thrown  up 
it  is  no  evil  to  come  down,  nor  indeed  an}-  good 
to  have  been  carried  up  (viii.  20). 

1 8.  Penetrate    inwards    into   men's   leading 
principles,  and  thou  wilt  see  what  judges  thou 
art  afraid  of,  and  what  kind  of  judges  they  are 
of  themselves. 

19.  All  things  are  changing  :  and  thou  thy- 
self art  in  continuous  mutation  and  in  a  man- 
ner in  continuous  destruction,  and  the  whole 
universe  too. 

20.  It  is   thy   duty  to  leave  another  man's 
wrongful  act  there  where  it  is  (vii.  29;  ix.  38). 

21.  Termination  of  activity,  cessation  from 

*  Virtulis  omnis  laus  in  actionc  consist.it. — Cicero, 
De  Off.,  i.  6. 


Book  ix.]     /foarcus  Hurettua  Sntontnue.          241 

movement  and  opinion,  and  in  a  .sense  their 
death,  is  no  evil.  Turn  thy  thoughts  now  to 
tile  consideration  of  thy  life,  thy  life  as  a  child, 
as  a  youth,  thy  manhood,  thy  old  age,  for  in 
these  also  every  change  was  a  death.  Is  this 
anything  to  fear?  Turn  thy  thoughts  now  to 
thy  life  under  thy  grandfather,  Lhcii  to  thy  life 
under  thy  mother,  then  to  thy  life  under  thy 
father;  and  as  tlnni  fmdest  many  other  differ- 
ences and  changes  and  terminations,  ask  thy- 
self, Is  this  anything  to  fear?  In  like  manner, 
then,  neither  are  the  termination  and  cessation 
and  change  of  thy  whole  life  r.  thing  to  be 
afraid  of. 

22.  Hasten    [to    examine]    thy    own     ruling 
faculty  and  that  of  the  universe  and  that  of  thy 
neighbor:   thy  own,  that  thon    mayst   make   it 
jnst  :   and  that  of  the  universe,  that  thon  mayst 

remember  of  what  thon  art  a  part;  and  that  of 
thy  neighbor,  that  thon  mayst  know  whether 
he  has  acted  ignorantly  or  with  knowledge, 
and  thon  mayst  also  consider  that  his  ruling 
faculty  is  akin  to  thine. 

23.  As  thou  thyself  art  a  component  part  of 
a  social   system,  so  let  every  act  of  thine  be  a 
component   part  of  social  life.      "Whatever   act 
of  thine  then   has  no  reference  either  immedi- 
ately or   remotely   to   a   social   end,    this   tears 
nsnnder  thy   life,   and  does  not  allow  it  to  be 
one,  and  it  is  of  the  nature  of  a  mutiny,  jn>t  as 
when   in  a  popular  assembly  a  man  acting  by 
himself  stands  apart  from  the  general  agreement. 

16 


242  Gbougbts.  [Book  ix. 

24.  Quarrels    of    little    children    and    their 
sports,   and  poor  spirits  carrying   about  dead 
bodies  [such  is  everything];    and  so  what  is 
exhibited  in  the  representation  of  the  mansions 
of  the  dead*  strikes  our  eyes  more  clearly. 

25.  Examine  into  the  quality  of  the  form  of 
an  object,    and  detach   it  altogether   from    its 
material  part,   and  then  contemplate  it ;    then 
determine  the  time,  the  longest  which  a  thing 
of  this  peculiar  form  is  naturally  made  to  en- 
dure. 

26.  Thou    hast     endured     infinite    troubles 
through  not  being  contented  with  thy  ruling 
faculty  when  it  does  the  things  which  it  is  con- 
stituted by  nature  to  do.     But  enough  +  [of 
this]. 

27.  When  another  blames  thee  or  hates  thee, 
or  when  men  say  about  thee  anything  injurious, 
approach  their  poor  souls,   penetrate  within, 
and   see  what  kind  of  men    they  are.     Thou 
wilt  discover  that  there  is  no  reason   to  take 
any  trouble  that  these  men  may  have  this  or 
that  opinion  about  thee.     However,  thou  must 
be  well  disposed  towards  them,  for  by  nature 
they  are  friends.     And  the  gods  too  aid  them 
in  all  ways,  by  dreams,  by  signs,  towards  the 
attainment  of  those  things  on  which  they  set 
a  value. -H 

*  TU  T;/f  TSeKvlaf  may  be,  as  Gataker  conjectures,  a 
dramatic  representation  of  the  state  of  the  dead. 
Schultz  supposes  that  it  may  be  also  a  reference  to  the 
~ia  of  the  Odyssey  (lib.  xi. ). 


Book  IX.]    /foarcus  Burclfus  Hntonfnus.          243 

28.  The  periodic  movements  of  the  universe 
are  the  same,  up  and   down   from  age  to  age. 
And  either  the  universal   intelligence  puts  it- 
self in  motion  for  every  separate  effect,  and  if 
this  is  so,  be  thou  content  with  that  which  is 
the  result  of  its   activity;   or  it  puts   itself  in 
motion    once,    and   even-thing   else   comes    by 
way  of  sequence*  in  a  manner;  or  indivisible 
elements  are  the  origin    of  all  things. — In   a 
word,   if  there   is   a   god,    all    is    well;    and    if 
chance  rules,  do  not  thou  also  be  governed  by 
it  (vi.  44;  vii.  75). 

Soon  will  the  earth  cover  us  all:  then  the 
earth,  too,  will  change,  and  the  things  also 
which  result  from  change  will  continue  to 
change  forever,  and  these  again  forever.  For 
if  a  man  reflects  on  the  changes  and  transfor- 
mations which  follow  one  another  like  wave 
after  wave  and  their  rapidity,  he  will  despise 
everything  which  is  perishable  (xii.  21). 

29.  The   universal    cause    is    like   a    winter 
torrent:    it    carries   everything   along   with    it. 
But  how  worthless  are  all    these  poor  people 
who  are  engaged  in  matters  political,  and,  as 
they   suppose,    are    playing    the    philosopher  i 
All  drivellers.     Well  then,  man:  do  what  na- 
ture now  requires.     Set  thyself  in  motion,  if  it 
is  in  thy  power,  and  do  not  look  about  thee  to 
see  if  any  one  will  observe  it;  nor  yet  expect 

*  The  words  which  immediately  follow  nar'  f-ai<o- 
Aw07/<7/i'  are  corrupt.  But  the  meaning  is  hardly 
doubtful.  (Compare  vii.  75.) 


244  Cbougbte.  [Book  a. 

Plato's  Republic:*  but  be  content  if  the  small- 
est thing  goes  on  well,  and  consider  such  an 
event  to  be  no  small  matter.  For  who  can 
change  men's  opinions?  and  without  a  change 
of  opinions  what  else  is  there  than  the  slavery 
of  men  who  groan  while  they  pretend  to  obey  ? 
Come  now  and  tell  me  of  Alexander  and 
Philippus  and  Demetrius  of  Phalerum.  They 
themselves  shall  judge  whether  they  discovered 
what  the  common  nature  required,  and  trained 
themselves  accordingly.  But  if  they  acted  like 
tragedy  heroes,  no  one  has  condemned  me  to 
imitate  them.  Simple  and  modest  is  the  work 
of  philosophy.  Draw  me  not  aside  to  insolence 
and  pride. 

30.  Look  down  from  above  on  the  countless 
herds  of  men  and  their  countless  solemnities, 
and  the  infinitely  varied  voyagings  in  storms 
and  calms,  and  {he  differences  among  those 
who  are  born,  who  live  together,  and  die. 
And  consider,  too,  the  life  lived  by  others  in 
olden  time,  and  the  life  of  those  who  will  live 
after  thee,  and  the  life  now  lived  among  bar- 
barous nations,  and  how  many  know  not  even 
thy  name,  and  how  many  will  soon  forget  it, 
and  how  they  who  perhaps  now  are  prais- 
ing thee  will  very  soon  blame  thee,  and  that 
neither  a  posthumous  name  is  of  any  value, 
nor  reputation,  nor  anything  else. 

-"Those  who  \vish  to  know  what  Plato's  Republic  is 
may  now  study  it  in  the  accurate  translation  of  Davie? 
and  Vauyhan. 


Book  IX.]     flfcarcus  Burclius  Bntcninus. 


245 


31.  Let  there  be  freedom   from  perturbations 
with  respect  to  the  things  which  conic  from  the 
external  cause;   and  let  there  be  justice   in   the 
things  done  by  virtue    of   the    internal   cau>e. 
that  is,  let  there  be  movement   and    action   ter- 
minating in  this,  in  social  acts,  tor  this    is  ac- 
cording to  thy  nature. 

32.  Thou  canst  remove  out  of  the  way  many 
useless  things  among  those  which  disturb  thee, 
for  they  lie  entirely  in    thy  opinion;  and   thon 
wilt  then  gain  for  thyself  ample  space  by  com- 
prehending the  whole   universe    in   thy  mind, 
and  by  contemplating-  the  eternity  of  time,  and 
observing  the    rapid   change  of  every    several 
thing,  how  short  is  the  time   from  birth  to  dis- 
solution, and  the  illimitable  time  before  birth 
as  well  as  the  equally  boundless  time  after  dis- 
solution ! 

33.  All  that  thou  seest  will  quickly  perish, 
and  those  who  have  been  spectators  of  its  dis- 
solution  will   very   soon    perish    too.      And   he 
who    dies    at    the   extremes!    old    age    will   be 
brought  into  the  same  condition  with  him  who 
died  prematurely. 

34.  What  are  these  men's  leading  principles, 
and  about  what  kind  of  things  are   they  busy, 
and  for  what  kind  of  reasons  do  they  love  and 
honor?      Imagine  that  thou    seest   their   poor 
souls  laid  bare.      When    they   think   that   they 
do  harm  by  their  blame  or  good  by  their  praise, 
what  an  idea  ! 

35.  Loss  is  nothing  else  than  change.     But 


246  ^bougbts.  [Book  IX. 

the  universal  nature  delights  in  change,  and  in 
obedience  to  her  all  things  are  now  done  well, 
and  from  eternity  have  been  in  like  form,  and 
will  be  such  to  time  without  end.  What,  then, 
dost  thou  say, --that  all  things  have  been  and 
all  things  always  will  be  bad,  and  that  no  power 
has  ever  been  found  in  so  many  gods  to  rectify 
these  things,  but  the  world  has  been  condemned 
to  be  bound  in  never  ceasing  evil  (iv.  45,  vii. 
18)? 

36.  The  rottenness   of  the  matter  which  is 
the   foundation    of  everything  !    water,    dust, 
bones,  filth:  or  again,  marble  rocks,  the  callos- 
ities of  the  earth;  and  gold  and  silver,  the  sed- 
iments; and  garments,  only  bits  of  hair;  and 
purple  dye,  blood;  and   everything  else  is  of 
the  same  kind.     And  that  which  is  of  the  na- 
ture of  breath  is  also  another  thing  of  the  same 
kind,  changing  from  this  to  that. 

37.  Enough  of  this  wretched  life  and  mur- 
muring and  apish  tricks.     Why  art  thou  dis- 
turbed?    What  is  there  new  in   this?     What 
unsettles  thee  ?     Is  it  the  form  of  the  thing  ? 
lyOok  at  it.     Or  is  it  the  matter?     Ivook  at  it. 
But  besides  these  there  is  nothing.     Towards 
the  gods  then,  now  become  at  last  more  simple 
and  better.     It  is  the  same  whether  we  exam- 
ine these  things   for  a  hundred  years  or  three. 

38.  If  a  man  has  done  wrong  the  harm  is  his 
own.     But  perhaps  he  has  not  done  wrong. 

39.  Either  all  things  proceed  from  one  intel- 
ligent source  and  come  together  as  in  one  body, 


Book  IX.]     jflfcarcue  HureUus  Bntoninua.  247 

and  the  part  ought  not  to  find  fault  with  what 
is  done  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  ;  or  there 
are  only  atoms,  and  nothing  else  than  mixture 
and  dispersion.  \Vhy,  then,  art  thou  disturbed  ? 
Say  to  the  ruling  faculty,  Art  thou  dead,  art 
thou  corrupted,  art  thou  playing  the  hypocrite, 
art  thou  become  a  beast,  dost  thou  herd  and 
feed  with  the  rest  ?:;: 

40.  Hither  the  gods  have  no  power  or  they 
have  power.  If,  then,  they  have  no  power, 
why  dost  thou  pray  to  them  ?  But  if  they  have 
power,  why  dost  thou  not  pray  for  them  to  give 
thee  the  faculty  of  not  fearing  any  of  the  things 
which  thou  tearest,  or  of  not  desiring  any  of  the 
things  which  thou  desirest,  or  not  being 
pained  at  any  thing,  rather  than  pray  that  any 
of  these  things  should  not  happen  or  hap- 
pen ?  for  certainly  if  they  can  co-operate  with 
nieii,  they  can  co-operate  for  these  purposes. 
But  perhaps  thou  wilt  say  the  gods  have  placed 
them  in  thy  power.  \Yell,  then,  is  it  not. bet- 
ter to  use  what  is  in  thy  power  like  a  free  man 
than  to  desire  in  a  slavish  and  abject  way  what 
is  not  in  thy  power  ?  And  who  has  told  thee 
that  the  gods  do  not  aid  us,  even  in  the  things 
which  are  in  our  power?  Begin,  then,  to  pray 
for  such  things,  and  thou  wilt  see.  One  man 

*  There  is  some  corruption  at  the  end  of  this  section, 
but  I  think  that  the  translation  expresses  the  em- 
peror's meaning.  Whether  intelligence  rules  all 
things  or  chance  rules,  a  man  must  not  be  disturbed. 
He  must  use  the  power  that  lie  has  and  be  tranquil. 


248  ftbougbts.  [Book  ix. 

prays  thus:  How  shall  I  be  able  to  lie  with  that 
woman  ?  Do  thou  pray  thus:  How  shall  I  not 
desire  to  lie  with  her  ?  Another  prays  thus: 
How  shall  I  be  released  from  this  ?  Pray 
thou  :  How  shall  I  not  desire  to  be  released  ? 
Another  thus:  How  shall  I  not  lose  my  little 
son  ?  Thou  thus:  How  shall  I  not  be  afraid  to 
lose  him  ?  In  fine,  turn  thy  prayers  this  way, 
and  see  what  comes. 

41.  Epicurus  says,  In   my  sickness  my  con- 
versation was  not  about  my  bodily  sufferings, 
nor,  says  he,  did    I    talk   on   such  subjects  to 
those  who  visited  me;  but  I  continued  to  dis- 
course on  the  nature  of  things  as  before,  keep- 
ing to  this  main  point,  how  the   mind,  while 
participating  in  such  movements  as  go  on   in 
the  poor  flesh,  shall  be  free  from  perturbations 
and   maintain  its  proper  good.     Xor  did  I,  he 
says,  give  the  physicians  an  opportunity  of  put- 
ting on  solemn  looks,  as  if  they   were    doing 
something  great,  but  my  life  went  on  well  and 
happily.      Do,  then,  the  same  that  he  did  both 
in  sickness,  if  thou  art  sick,   and   in  any  other 
circumstances;   for  never  to  desert  philosophy 
in  any  events  that  may  befall  us,  nor  to  hold 
trifling  talks  either  with    an  ignorant  man  or 
with  one  unacquainted  with  nature,  is  a  prin- 
ciple of  all  schools  of  philosophy;  but    to  be 
intent  only  on  that  which  thou  art  now  doing 
and  on  the  instrument  by  which  thou  doest  it. 

42.  When  thou  art  offended  with  any  man's 
shameless  conduct,    immediately    ask    thyself, 


Book  IX.]     /Bbarcus  Hurcltus  Bntoninus. 


Is  it  possible-,  then,  thai  shameless  men  should 
not  be  in  UK-  world?  It  is  not  possible.  Do 
not,  then,  require  what  is  impossible.  For 
this  man  also  is  one  ol  those  shameless  men 
who  must  of  necessity  be  in  the  world.  I,et 
the  same  considerations  be  present  to  thy  mind 
in  the  case  of  the  knave,  and  the  faithless  man, 
and  of  every  man  who  does  wrong  in  any  way. 
For  at  the  same  time  that  thou  dost  remind 
thyself  that  it  is  impossible  that  such,  kind  of 
men  should  not  exist,  thou  wilt  become  more 
kindly  disposed  towards  every  one  individually. 
It  is  useful  to  perceive  this,  too,  immediately 
when  the  occasion  arises,  what  virtue  nature- 
has  given  to  man  to  oppose  to  every  wrongful 
act.  For  she  has  given  to  man,  as  an  antidote 
against  the  stupid  man,  mildness,  and  against 
another  kind  of  man  some  other  power.  And 
in  all  ca^es  it  is  possible  ior  thee  to  correct  by 
teaching  the  man  who  is  gone  astray;  for  every 
man  who  errs  misses  his  object  and  is  gone 
astray.  Besides,  wherein  hast  thou  been  in- 
jured? For  thou  wilt  find  that  no  one  among 
those  against  whom  thou  art  irritated  has  done 
anything  by  which  thy  mind  could  be  made 
worse;  but  that  which  isevil  to  thee  and  harm- 
ful has  its  foundation  only  in  the  mind.  And 
what  harm  is  done  or  what  is  there  strange,  if 
the  man  who  has  not  been  instructed  does  the 
acts  of  an  uninstructed  man  ?  Consider 
whether  thou  shouldst  not  rather  blame  thy- 
self, because  thou  didst  not  expect  such  a  mau 


250  Gbougbts.  [Book  IX. 

to  err  in  such  a  way.  For  thou  hadst  means 
given  thee  by  thy  reason  to  suppose  that  it 
was  likely  that  he  would  commit  this  error, 
and  yet  thou  hast  forgotten  and  art  amazed 
that  he  has  erred.  But  most  of  all  when  thou 
iblamest  a  man  as  faithless  or  ungrateful,  turn 
to  thyself.  For  the  fault  is  manifestly  thy  own, 
whether  thou  didst  trust  that  a  man  who  had 
such  a  disposition  would  keep  his  promise,  or 
when  conferring  thy  kindness  thou  didst  not 
confer  it  absolutely,  nor  yet  in  such  way  as  to 
have  received  from  thy  very  act  all  the  profit. 
For  what  more  dost  thou  want  when  thou  hast 
done  a  man  a  service  ?  art  thou  not  content  that 
thou  hast  done  something  conformable  to  thy 
nature,  and  dost  thou  seek  to  be  paid  for  it  ? 
just  as  if  the  eye  demanded  a  recompense  for 
seeing,  or  the  feet  for  walking.  For  as  these 
members  are  formed  for  a  particular  purpose, 
and  by  working  according  to  their  several  con- 
stitutions obtain  what  is  their  own;*  so  also  as 
man  is  formed  by  nature  to  acts  of  benevolence, 
when  he  has  done  anything  benevolent  or  in 
any  other  way  conducive  to  the  common  inter- 
est, he  has  acted  conformably  to  his  constitu- 
tion, and  he  gets  what  is  his  own. 

*  'A.—t~xei  ro  Ifiinv.    This  sense  of  cbr^eiv  occurs  in 
xi.  I,  and  iv.  49;  also  in  St.   Matthew,  vi.  2,  a-t 
rbv  vidOov,  and  iu  Epictetus. 


Book!.]      /fcarcus  Bnrclius  Bntoninus.          251 


X. 

WILT  thou,  then,  my  soul,  never  be  good 
and  simple  and  one  and  naked,  more 
manifest  than  the  body  which  surrounds  thee  ? 
Wilt  thou  never  enjoy  an  affectionate  and  con- 
tented disposition?  Wilt  thou  never  be  full 
and  without  a  want  of  any  kind,  longing  for 
nothing  more,  nor  desiring  anything,  either 
animate  or  inanimate,  for  the  enjoyment  of 
pleasures?  nor  yet  desiring  time  wherein  thou 
shalt  have  longer  enjoyment,  or  place,  or 
pleasant  climate,  or  society  of  men  with  whom 
thou  mayst  live  in  harmony?  but  wilt  thou  be 
satisfied  with  thy  present  condition,  and 
pleased  with  all  that  is  about  thee,  and  wilt 
thou  convince  thyself  that  thou  hast  even-- 
thing, and  that  it  comes  from  the  gods,  that 
everything  is  well  for  thee,  and  will  be  well 
whatever  shall  please  them,  and  whatever  they 
shall  give  for  the  conservation  of  the  perfect 
living  being,*  the  good  and  just  and  beautiful, 
which  generates  and  holds  together  all  things, 
and  contains  and  embraces  all  things  which 
are  dissolved  for  the  production  of  other  like 
things  ?  Wilt  thou  never  be  such  that  thou 

*  That  is,  God  (iv.  40),  as  he   is   defined  bv  Zeno. 
But  the  confusion  between  gods  and  God  is  strange. 


252  Gbougbts.  [Book  I. 

shalt  so  dwell  in  community  with  gods  and 
men  as  neither  to  find  fault  with  them  at  all, 
nor  to  be  condemned  by  them  ? 

2.  Observe  what  thy  nature  requires,  so  far 
as  thou  art  governed  by  nature  only:  then  do 
it  and  accept  it,  if  thy  nature,  so  far  as  thou  art 
a  living  being,  shall  not  be  made  worse  by  it. 
And  next  thou  must  observe  what  thy  nature 
requires  so  far  as  thou  art  a  living  being.     And 
all  this  thou  mayst  allow  thyself,  if  thy  nature, 
so  far  as  thou  art  a  rational  animal,  shall  not 
be  made  worse  by  it.     But  the  rational  animal 
is  consequently  also  a  political  [social]  animal. 
Use  these  rules,  then,  and  trouble  thyself  about 
nothing  else. 

3.  K  very  thing  which  happens  either  happens 
in  such  wise  as  thou  art  formed  by  nature  to 
bear  it,  or  as  thou  art  not  formed  by  nature  to 
bear  it.      If,  then,  it  happens  to  thee  in  such 
way  as  thou  art  formed  by  nature  to  bear  it,  do 
not  complain,  but  bear  it  as  thou  art  formed  by 
nature  to  bear  it.     But  if  it  happens  in  such 
wise  as  thou  art  not  formed  by  nature  to  bear 
it,  do  not  complain,  for  it  will  perish  after  it 
has  consumed  thee.     Remember,  however,  that 
thou  art  formed  by  nature  to  bear  everything, 
with  respect  to  which  it  depends  on  thy  own 
opinion  to  make  it  endurable  and  tolerable,  by 
thinking  that  it  is  either  thy  interest  or  thy 
duty  to  do  this. 

4.  If  a  man  is  mistaken,  instruct  him  kindly 
and  show  him  his  error.      But  if  thou  art  not 
able,  blame  thyself,  or  blame  not  even  thyself. 


Book  X.]      fl&arcus  Burclius  Sntoninus.          253 

5.  Whatever  may  happen  to  thec,  it  was  pre- 
pared  for  thce  from  all  eternity;   and  the  impli- 
cation of  causes  was  from  eternity  spinning  the 
thread  of  thy  being,  and  of  that  whieh  is  inci- 
dent to  it  ( iii.   ii ;   iv.  2(1 ). 

6.  \\'hether  the   universe  is  [a  concourse  of] 
atoms,  or  nature  [is  a  system],  let  this  first  be 
established,    that    I    am    a    part    of   the    whole 
which  is  governed  by  nature;   next,  I  am   in  a 
manner  intimately   related  to  the  parts  which 
are   of  the  same    kind    with    myself.       For   re- 
membering  this,   inasmuch  as  I  am  a  part,  I 
shall   be  discontented   with  none  of  the   tilings 
which  are  assigned  to  me  out  of  the  whole;   lor 
nothing  is  injurious  to  the  part  if  it  is  for  the 
advantage  of  the  whole.      For  the  wlu^e  con- 
tains nothing  which  is  not   for  its  advantage; 
and  all  natures  indeed  have  this  common  prin- 
ciple, but  the  nature  of  the  universe  has  this 
principle  besides,  that  it  cannot  be  compelled 
even   by  any  external   cause   to  generate  any- 
thing harmful  to  itself.      By  remembering,  then, 
that   I  am    a  part  of  such   a   whole,  I   shall   be 
content  with  everything   that    happens.      And 
inasmuch  as  I  am  in  a  manner  intimately  re- 
lated to  the  parts  which  are  of  the  same  kind 
with  myself,  I  shall  do  nothing  unsocial,  but  I 
shall  rather  direct  myself  to  the  things  which 
are  of  the  same  kind  with  myself,  and   I  shall 
turn  all  my  efforts  to  the  common  interest,  and 
divert  them  from  the  contrary.     Now,  if  these 
things  are  done  so,  life  must  flow  on  happily, 


254  ftbougbts.  [BookX. 

just  as  tliou  mayst  observe  that  the  life  of  a 
citizen  is  happy,  who  continues  a  course  of 
action  which  is  advantageous  to  his  fellow- 
citizens,  and  is  content  with  whatever  the  state 
may  assign  to  him. 

7.  The  parts  of  the  whole,  everything,  I 
mean,  which  is  naturally  comprehended  in  the 
universe,  must  of  necessity  perish;  but  let  this 
be  understood  in  this  sense,  that  they  must  un- 
dergo change.  But  if  this  is  naturally  both  an 
evil  and  a  necessity  for  the  parts,  the  whole 
would  not  continue  to  exist  in  a  good  condi- 
tion, the  parts  being  subject  to  change  and 
constituted  so  as  to  perish  in  various  ways. 
For  whether  did  Nature  herself  design  to  do 
evil  to  the  things  which  are  parts  of  herself, 
and  to  make  them  subject  to  evil  and  of  neces- 
sity fall  into  evil,  or  have  such  results  happened 
without  her  knowing  it?  Both  these  supposi- 
tions, indeed,  are  incredible.  But  if  a  man 
should  even  drop  the  term  Nature  [as  an  effi- 
cient power],  and  should  speak  of  these  things 
as  natural,  even  then  it  would  be  ridiculous  to 
affirm  at  the  same  time  that  the  parts  of  the 
whole  are  in  their  nature  subject  to  change, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  be  surprised  or  vexed 
as  if  something  were  happening  contrary  to  na- 
ture, particularly  as  the  dissolution  of  things  is 
into  those  things  of  which  each  thing  is  com- 
posed. For  there  is  either  a  dispersion  of  the 
elements  out  of  which  everything  has  been 
compounded,  or  a  change  from  the  solid  to  the 


Book!.]      /fcarcus  Zlurclius  Bntcminus.  255 

earthy  and  from  the  airy  to  the  aerial,  so  that 
these  parts  are  taken  back  into  the  universal 
reason,  whether  this  at  certain  periods  is  con- 
sumed by  fire  or  renewed  by  eternal  changes. 
And  do  not  imagine  that  the  solid  and  the  airy 
part  belong  to  thee  from  the  time  of  generation. 
For  all  this  received  its  accretion  only  yester- 
day and  the  day  before,  as  one  may  say,  from 
the  food  and  the  air  which  is  inspired.  This, 
then,  which  has  received  [the  accretion], 
changes,  not  that  which  thy  mother  brought 
forth.  But  suppose  that  this  [which  thy  mother 
brought  forth]  implicates  thee  very  much  with 
that  other  part,  which  has  the  peculiar  cjuality 
[of  change],  this  is  nothing  in  fact  in  the  way 
of  objection  to  what  is  said.* 

S.  When  thou  hast  assumed  these  names, 
good,  modest,  true,  rational,  a  man  of  equa- 
nimity, and  magnanimous,  take  care  that  thou 
dost  not  change  these  names;  and  if  thou 
shouldst  lose  them,  quickly  return  to  them. 
And  remember  that  the  term  Rational  was  in- 
tended to  signify  a  discriminating  attention 

*  The  end  of  this  section  is  perhaps  corrupt.  The 
meaning  is  very  obscure.  I  have  given  that  meaning 
which  appears  to  be  consistent  with  the  whole  argu- 
ment. The  emperor  here  maintains  that  the  essential 
part  of  man  is  unchangeable,  and  that  the  other  parts, 
if  they  change  or  perish,  do  not  affect  that  which 
really  constitutes  the  man.  See  the  Philosophy  of 
Antoninus,  p.  56,  note  2.  Schnlt/,  supposed  "thy 
mother"  to  mean  nature,  i]  ^loiq.  But  I  doubt  about 
that. 


256  £bOU0btS.  [BookX. 

to  every  several  thing,  and  freedom  from  neg- 
ligence; and  that  Equanimity  is  the  voluntary 
acceptance  of  the  things  which  are  assigned  to 
thee  by  the  common  nature;  and  that  Mag- 
nanimity is  the  elevation  of  the  intelligent  part 
above  the  pleasurable  or  painful  sensations  of 
the  flesh,  and  above  that  poor  thing  called  lame, 
and  death,  and  all  such  things.  If,  then,  thuii 
maintainest  thyself  in  the  possession  of  these 
names,  without  desiring  to  be  called  by  these 
names  by  others,  thou  wilt  be  another  person 
and  wilt  enter  on  another  life.  For  to  continue 
to  be  such  as  thou  hast  hitherto  been,  and  to  be 
torn  in  pieces  and  defiled  in  such  a  life,  is  the 
character  of  a  very  stupid  man  and  one  over- 
fond  of  his  life,  and  like  those  half-devoured 
fighters  with  wild  beasts,  who  though  covered 
with  wounds  and  gore,  still  intreat  to  be  kept 
to  the  following  day,  though  they  will  be  ex- 
posed in  the  same  state  to  the  same  claws  ond 
bites.*  Therefore  fix  thyself  in  the  possession 
of  these  few  names:  and  if  thou  art  able  to 
•abide  in  them,  abide  as  if  thou  wast  removed  to 
certain  islands  of  the  Happy. f  But  if  thou 

-"See  Seneca,  F,pp.  70,  on  these  exhibitions  which 
amused  the  people  of  those  days.  These  fighters  were 
the  Bestiarri,  some  of  \vhoni  may  have  been  criminals; 
but  even  if  they  were,  the  exhibition  was  equally 
characteristic  of  the  depraved  habits  of  the  spectators. 

f  The  islands  of  the  Happy,  or  the  Fortunatae  Insu- 
lae,  are  spoken  of  by  the  Greek  and  Roman  writers. 
They  were  the  abode  of  Heroes,  like  Achilles  aud 


Book  X.]      Marcus  Burclius  Hntoninus.  257 

sbalt  perceive  that  thou  fullest  out  of  them  and 
dost  not  maintain  thy  hold,  go  courageously 
into  some  nook  where  thou  shalt  maintain 
them,  or  even  depart  at  once  Irom  life,  not  in 
passion,  but  with  simplicity  and  freedom  and 
modesty,  after  doing  this  one  [laudable]  thing 
at  least  in  thy  life,  to  have  gone  out  of  it  thus. 
In  order,  however,  to  the  remembrance  of  these 
names,  it  will  greatly  help  thee  if  thou  remem- 
berest  the  gods,  and  that  they  wish  not  to  be 
flattered,  but  wish  all  reasonable  beings  to  be 
made  like  themselves;  and  if  thou  remember- 
est  that  what  does  the  work  of  a  fig-tree  is  a 
fig-tree,  and  that  what  does  the  work  of  a  dog 
is  a  dog,  and  that  what  does  the  work  of  a  bee 

Diomedes,  as  we  see  in  the  Soolion  of  Harmoclius  and 
Aristogiton.  Sertorius  hoard  of  the  islands  at  Cadiz 
from  some  Bailors  who  had  been  there,  and  he  had  a 
wish  to  !^o  and  live  in  them  and  re^t  irom  his  troubles 
(Plutareh,  Sertorir.s,  e.  S  .  In  the  Odyssey,  Proteus 
told  Menelaus  that  he  should  not  die  in  Ars^os,  but  be 
removed  to  a  place  at  the  boundary  of  the  earth  where 
Rhadamauthus  dwelt  'Odyssey,  iv.  5(15): — 

"  For  there  in  sooth  man's  life  is  easiest: 
Nor  snow  nor  raging  storm  nor  rain  is  there 
But  ever  gently  breathing  gales  of  Zephyr 
Oceanus  sends  up  to  gladden  man." 

It  is  certain  that  the  writer  of  the  Odyssey  only  fol- 
lows some  old  legend,  without  having  any  knowledge 
of  any  place  which  corresponds  to  his  description. 
The  two  islands  which  Sertorius  heard  of  may  be  Ma- 
deira and  the  adjacent  island.  Compare  Pindar,  Ol. 
ii.  129. 

17 


258  ^bougbts.  [Book  1 

is  a  bee,  and  that  what  does  the  work  of  a  man 
is  a  man. 

g.  Mimi,*war,  astonishment,  torpor,  slavery, 
will  daily  wipe  out  those  holy  principles  of 
thine,  -t  How  many  things  without  studying 
nature  dost  thou  imagine,  and  how  many  dost 
thou  neglect?')"  But  it  is  thy  duty  so  to  look 
on  and  so  to  do  everything,  that  at  the  same 
time  the  power  of  dealing  with  circumstances 
is  perfected,  and  the  contemplative  faculty  is 
exercised,  and  the  confidence  which  comes 
from  the  knowledge  of  eacli  several  thing  is 
maintained  without  showing  it,  but  yet  not 
concealed.  For  when  wilt  thou  enjoy  sim- 
plicity, when  gravity,  and  when  the  knowledge 
of  even-  several  thing,  both  what  it  is  in  sub- 
stance, and  what  place  it  has  in  the  universe, 
and  how  long  it  is  formed  to  exist,  and  of  what 
things  it  is  compounded,  and  to  whom  it  can 
belong,  and  who  are  able  both  to  give  it  and 
take  it  away? 

10.  A  spider  is  proud  when  it  has  caught  a 
fly,  and  another  when  he  has  caught  a  poor 
hare,  and  another  when  he  has  taken  a  little 
fish  in  a  net,  and  another  when  he  has  taken 
wild  boars,  and  another  when  he  has  taken 
bears,  and  another  when  he  has  taken  Sar- 

*  Corais  conjectured  /rteog  "hatred"  in  place  of 
Minii,  Roman  plays  in  which  action  and  gesticulation 
Were  all  or  nearly  all. 

tThis  is  corrupt.     See  the  addition  of  Schultz. 


Book  X.]      Marcus  Surcliutj  Bntoniiuit".  259 

matians.      Arc  not  these   robbers,  if  thou  ex- 
aminest  their  opinions?* 

1 1.  Acquire  the  contemplative  way  of  seeing 
how  all   things  change   into  one  another,  and 
constantly   attend   to   it,    and    exercise  thvself 
about  this  part  [of  philosophy].      For  nothing 
is  so  much   adapted  to  produce  magnanimity. 
Such   a  man   has  put  off  the  body,  and   as  he 
.sees  that  he  must,  no  one  knows  how  soon,  go 
away  from    among   men    and    leave  everything 
here,  he  gives  himself  up  entirely  to  just  doing 
in  all   his  actions,  and   in  everything  else  that 
happens   he  resigns   himself  to   the   universal 
nature.      But  as  to  what  any  man  shall   say  or 
think   about    him  or  do  against   him,  lie  never 
even  thinks  of  it,  being  himself  contented  with 
these  two  things — with   acting  justly  in   what 
he  now  does,  and   being  satisfied  with  what   is 
now  assigned  to  him;   and  lie  lays  aside  all  dis- 
tracting and  busy  pursuits,  and  desires  nothing 
else    than    to    accomplish    the    straight   course 
through   the   law,t  and   bv  accomplishing   the 
straight  course  to  iollow  God. 

12.  What   need    is   there  of  suspicious   fear, 
since  it  is  in  thy  power  to  inquire  what  ought 
to   be   done?     And    if  thou   seest  clear,  goby 

*  Marcus  means  to  say  that  conquerors  arc  robbers. 
He  himself  warred  against  Sarmatians,  and  \va>-  a  rob- 
ber, as  he  says,  like  the  rest.  But  compare  the  life  of 
Avidins  Cassius,  c.  4,  by  Yulcatins. 

f  By  the  la\v  he  means  the  divine  law,  obedience  to 
the  \vill  of  God. 


26o  CbOUflbtS.  [Book  X. 

this  way  content,  without  turning  back;  but 
if  thou  dost  not  see  clear,  stop  and  take  the 
best  advi.sejs.  But  if  any  other  things  oppose 
thee,  go  on  according  to  thy  powers  with  due 
consideration,  keeping  to  that  which  appears 
to  be  just.  For  it  is  best  to  reach  this  object, 
and  if  thou  dost  fail,  let  thy  failure  be  in  at- 
tempting this.  He  who  follows  reason  in  all 
things  is  both  tranquil  and  active  at  the  same 
time,  and  also  cheerful  and  collected. 

13.  Inquire  of  thyself  as  soon  as  thou  wakest 
from  sleep  whether  it  will  make  any  difference 
to  thee  if  another  does  what  is  just  and  right. 

[t  will  make  no  difference  (vi.  32;  viii.  55). 

Thou  hast  not  forgotten,  I  suppose,  that 
those  who  assume  arrogant  airs  in  bestowing 
their  praise  or  blame  on  others  are  such  as 
they  are  at  bed  and  at  board,  and  thou  hast 
not  forgotten  what  they  do,  and  what  they 
avoid,  and  what  they  pursue,  and  how  they 
steal  and  how  they  rob,  not  with  hands  and 
feet,  but  with  their  most  valuable  part,  by 
means  of  which  there  is  produced,  when  a  man 
chooses,  fidelity,  modesty,  truth,  law,  a  good 
daemon  [happiness]  (vii.  17)? 

14.  To  her  who  gives  and  takes  back  all,  to 
nature,  the  man   who  is  instructed  and  modest 
says,   Give  what    thou  wilt:  take    back    what 
thou  wilt.     And  lie  says  this  not  proudly,  but 
obediently,  and  well  pleased  with  her. 

15.  Short  is  the  little  which  remain.-,  to  thee 
of  life.     Live  as  on  a  mountain.     For  it  makes 


Book  x.]     /fcarcus  Burcltus  Bntoninus.          261 

no  difference  whether  :i  man  lives  there  or 
here,  ii  he  lives  everywhere  in  the  w<>rl<l  a>  in 
a  state  [political  coinnuinity].  Let  nu-  see.  let 
them  know  a  real  n'an  who  lives  according  to 
nature.  Ii"  they  cannot  endure  him,  let  them 
kill  him.  For  that  is  better  than  to  live  thus 
[as  men  do]. 

16.  Xo  longer  talk  at  all   about  the  kind  of 
man  that  a  good  man  outfit  to  be.  but  be  such. 

17.  Constantly  contemplate  the-  whole  <  >f  time 
and  the  whole  of  substance,  and  consider  that 
all  individual  things  as  to  substance  area  ^rain 
of  a  fig,  and  as  to  time  the  turning  of  a  gimlet. 

iJS.  Look  at  everything  that  exi>ts,  ami  ob- 
serve that  it  is  already  in  dissolution  and  in 
change,  and  as  it  \\vro  putrefaction  or  dis- 
persion, or  that  everything  is  so  constituted  by 
nature  as  to  die. 

19.  Consider  what  men  are  when  they  are  eat- 
ing,   sleeping,    generating,    easing   themselves, 
and  so  forth.      Thru  what  kind  of  me::  they  are 
when   they   are   imperious  -     and    arrogant,    or 
angry  and  scolding  from  their  elevated   place. 
But  a  short  time  ago  to  how  many  they  were 
slaves  and    for  what  things;   and  after  a   little 
time  consider  in  what  a  condition  they  will  be. 

20.  That  is  for  the  good  of  each  thing,  which 
the  universal  nature  brings  to  each.      And  it  is 
for  its  good  at  the  time  when  nature  brings  it. 

21.  "The    earth    loves    the    shower;"     and 
"the  solemn  ether   loves;"   and    the    universe 
loves  to  make  whatever  is  about  to  be.     I  sav 


262  {TbOUQbtS.  [BookL 

then  to  the  universe,  that  I  love  as  thou  lovest. 
And  is  not  this  too  said  that  "  this  or  that 
loves  [is  wont]  to  be  produced?"* 

22.  Either  thou  livest  here  and  hast  already 
accustomed    tin-self   to    it,  or    thou  art   going 
away,  and  this  was  thy  own  will;  or  thou  art 
dying  and  hast  discharged  thy  duty.     But  be- 
sides   these    things  there    is    nothing.     Be   of 
good  cheer,  then. 

23.  Let  this    always    be  plain    to  thee,  that 
this  piece  of  land  is  like  any  other ;  and  that 
all  things  here  are  the  same  with  things  on  the 
top    of  a    mountain,  or   on    the    sea-shore,   or 
wherever  thou  choosest  to  be.     For  thou  wilt 
find  just  what  Plato  says.  Dwelling  within  the 
walls   of  a  city  as  in  a  shepherd's  fold  on  a 
mountain.     [The  three  last  words  are  omitted 
in  the  translation.]! 

*  These  words  are  from  Euripides.  The}-  are  cited 
by  Aristotle.  Kthic.  Xicom.  viii.  i.  Alhenaeus  (xiii. 
296)  and  Stobaeus  quote  seven  complete  Hues  begin- 
ning t/)'~>  //•')'  iiii.lpor  ynia.  There  is  a  similar  fragment 
of  Aeschylus.  Dan  aides,  also  quoted  by  Athenaeus. 

It  was  the  fashion  of  the  Stoics  to  work  on  the 
meanings  of  words.  So  Antoninus  here  lakes  the 
verbo//;<,  "loves,"'  which  has  also  the  sense  of  "is 
wont,"  "uses."  and  the  like.  lie  finds  in  the  com- 
mon language  of  mankind  a  philosophical  truth,  and 
most  great  truths  are  expressed  in  the  common 
language  of  life;  some  understand  them,  but  most 
people  utter  them  without  knowing  how  much  they 
mean. 

t  Plato,  Theaet.  174  I).  K.  But  compare  the  orig- 
inal with  the  use  that  Antoninus  has  made  of  it. 


Book  X.]      /Iftarcus  Hurclius  antoninus.  263 

2J.  What  is  my  ruling  faculty  now  to  me? 
and  of  what  nature  am  I  now  making  it?  and 
for  what  purpose  am  I  now  using  it?  is  it  void 
of  understanding?  is  it  loosed  and  rent  asun- 
der from  social  life  ?  is  it  melted  into  and  mixed 
with  the  poor  ilesh  so  as  to  move  together 
with  it? 

25.  Me  who  flies  from  his  master  is  a  runa- 
way: hut  the  law  is  master,  and  lie  who  breaks 
the  law  is  a  runaway.  And  he  also  who  is 
grieved  or  angry  or  afraid,  +  is  dissatisfied  he- 
cause  something  has  been  or  is  or  shall  be  of 
the  things  which  are  appointed  bv  him  who 
rules  all  things,  and  he  is  Law  and  assigns  to 
every  man  what  is  fit.  lie  then  who  fears  or 
is  grieved  or  is  angry  is  a  runaway.* 

20.  A  man  deposits  seed  in  a  womb  and  goes 
away,  and  then  another  cause  takes  it  and 
labors  on  it,  and  makes  a  child.  What  a  thing 
from  such  a  material  !  Again,  the  child  passes 
food  down  through  the  throat,  and  then  an- 
other cause  takes  it  and  makes  perception  and 
motion,  and  in  fine,  life  and  strength  and  other 
things;  how  many  and  how  strange  !  Observe 
then  the  things  which  are  produced  in  such  a 
hidden  way,  and  see  the  power,  just  as  we  see 
the  power  which  carries  things  downwards  and 
upwards,  not  with  the  eyes,  but  still  no  less 
plainly  (vii.  85). 

*  Antoninus  is  here  playing  on  the  etymology,  of 
vouoc,  law,  assignment,  that  which  assigns  (i-i-itei)  to 
every  man  his  portion. 


264  tlbOUflbtS.  [Book  X. 

27.  Constantly  consider  how  all  things  such 
as  they  now  are,  in  time  past  also  were;  and 
consider   that   they  will   be  the   same  again. 
And  place  before  thy  eyes  entire  dramas  and 
stages  of  the  same  form,  whatever  thou  hast 
learned   from    thy    experience   or   from   older 
history;    for    example,    the    whole    court    of 
Hadrianus,  and  the  whole  court  of  Antoninus, 
and  the  whole  court  of  Philippus,  Alexander, 
Croesus;  for  all  those  were  such  dramas  as  we 
see  now,  only  with  different  actors. 

28.  Imagine  every   man  who   is  grieved  at 
anything  or  discontented  to  be  like  a  pig  which 
is  sacrificed  and  kicks  and  screams. 

I  .-ike  this  pig  also  is  he  who  on  his  bed  in 
silence  laments  the  bonds  in  which  we  are  held. 
And  consider  that  only  to  the  rational  animal 
is  it  given  to  follow  voluntarily  what  happens; 
but  simplv  to  follow  is  a  necessity  imposed  on 
all. 

29.  Severally  on  the  occasion  of  everything 
that  thou  dost,  pause  and  ask  thyself  if  death 
is  a  dreadful  thing  because  it  deprives  thee  of 
this. 

30.  When  thou  art  offended  at  any  man's 
fault,  forthwith  turn  to  thyself  and  reflect  in 
what  like  manner  thou   dost  err  thyself;  for 
example,   in   thinking  that   money   is  a  good 
thing,  or  pleasure,  or  a  bit  of  reputation,  and 
the  like.     For  by  attending  to  this  thou  wilt 
quickly  forget  thy  anger,  if  this  consideration 
feJso  is  added,  that  the  man  is  compelled:  for 


Book  X.]      /Marcus  BurcliUi?  Hntoninus.          265 

what  else  could   he  do  ?  or,    if  tliou  art  able, 
take  away  from  him  the  compulsion. 

31.  When  thou  hast  seen  Satyron*  the  So- 
cratic,4-  think  of  either  Kutychcs  or  Hymen, 
and  when  thon  hast  seen  Knphrates,  think  of 
Kutychion  or  Silvanns,  and  when  thon  hast 
seen  Alciphron  think  of  Tropaeophorus,  and 
when  thon  hast  seen  Xenophon,  think  of 
Critof  or  Severns,  and  when  thon  hast  looked 
on  thyself,  think  of  any  other  Caesar,  and  in 
the  case  of  every  one  do  in  like  manner.  Then 
let  this  thought  be  in  thy  mind,  Where  then 
are  those  men?  Nowhere,  or  nobody  knows 
where.  For  thus  continuously  thon  wilt  look 
at  human  thing's  as  smoke  ami  nothing  at  all; 
especially  if  thou  re  fleetest  at  the  same  time 
that  what  has  once  changed  will  never  exist 
again  in  the  infinite  duration  of  time.  But 
thou,  in  what  a  brief  space  of  time  is  thy  ex- 
istence ?  And  why  art  thou  not  content  to 
pass  through  this  short  time  in  an  orderly  way? 
What  matter  and  opportunity  [for  thy  activity] 

*  Nothing  is  known  of  Satyron  or  Satyrion;  nor,  I 
believe,  of  Eutyches  or  Hymen.  Euphrates  is  honor- 
ably mentioned  by  Epictetus  (Hi.  15,  8;  iv.  S,  17). 
Pliny  i  Epp.  i.  10)  speaks  very  highly  of  him.  lie  ob- 
tained the  permission  of  the  Emperor  Hadrian  to 
drink  poison,  because  he  was  old  and  in  bad  health 
^Dion  Cassius,  69,  c.  8). 

f  Crito  is  the  friend  of  Socrates  ;  and  he  was,  it  ap- 
pears, also  a  friend  of  Xenophon.  When  the  em- 
peror says  "seen"  (Ifiui1),  he  does  not  mean  with  the 
eyes. 


266  Gbougbts.  [Book  x. 

art  thou  avoiding  ?  For  what  else  are  all  these 
things,  except  exercises  for  the  reason,  when  it 
has  viewed  carefully  and  by  examination  into 
their  nature  the  things  which  happen  in  life  ? 
Persevere  then  until  thou  shalt  have  made 
these  things  thy  own,  as  the  stomach  which  is 
strengthened  makes  all  things  its  own,  as  the 
blazing  tire  makes  flame  and  brightness  out 
of  everything  that  is  thrown  into  it. 

32.  Let  it  not  be  in  any  man's  power  to  say 
truly  of  thee  that  thou  are  not  simple  or  that 
thou  art  not  good;  but  let  him  be  a  liar  who- 
ever shall  think  anything  of  this  kind  about 
thee;  and  this  is  altogether  in  thy  power.     For 
who  is  he  that  shall    hinder  thee  from   being 
good  and  simple  ?      Do  thou   only  determine 
to  live  no  longer  unless    thou   shalt   be  such. 
For  neither  does  reason  allow  [thee  to  live],  if 
thou  art  not  such.* 

33.  What  is   that  which    as   to  this  material 
[our  life]  can  be  done  or  said  in  the  way  most 
conformable    to    reason  ?     For   whatever    this 
may  be,  it  is  in  thy  power  to  do  it  or  to  say  it, 
and  do  not  make  excuses  that  thou  art  hindered. 
Thou  wilt  not  cease  to  lament  till  thy  mind  is 
in  such    a    condition    that   what    luxury  is  to 
those  who    enjoy  pleasure,   such    shall   be  to 
thee,  in  the  matter  which  is  subjected  and  pre- 
sented to  thee,  the  doing  of  the   things  which 
are  conformable  to  man's  constitution  ;  for  a 

*  Compare  Epictelus,  i.  29,  28. 


Book  x.  ]     /ifcarcus  Bureliug  Bntoninue.          267 

man  ou^ht  to  consider  as  an  enjoyment  every- 
thing which  it  is  in  his  power  to  tin  accoi  dim;  to 
his  own  nature.  And  it  is  in  hi>]>o\\er  every- 
where. Now.  it  is  not  ;..!,iven  to  a  cylinder  to 
move  everywhere  by  its  own  motion,  nor  yet  to 
water  nor  to  fire,  nor  to  anything  else  which  is 
governed  by  nature  or  an  irrational  soul,  lor 
the  things  which  check  them  and  stand  in  the 
way  are  manv.  P»nt  intelligence  and  reason 
are  able  to  ^o  through  every tiling  that  opposes 
them,  and  in  such  manner  as  they  are  formed 
by  nature  and  as  they  choose.  Place  before 
thy  eyes  this  facility  with  which  the  reason 
will  be  carried  through  all  things,  as  lire  up- 
wards, as  a  stone  downwards,  as  a  cylinder 
down  an  inclined  surface,  and  seek  for  nothing 
further.  For  all  other  obstacle-',  either  affect 
the  body  onl\  ,  which  is  a  dead  thiiK>;  or.  ex- 
cept through  opinion  and  the  yielding  of  the 
reason  itself,  they  do  not  crush  nor  do  any 
harm  of  any  kind;  for  if  they  did.  he  who  felt 
it  would  immediately  become  bad.  Xow.  in 
the  case  of  all  things  which  have  a  certain  con- 
stitution, whatever  harm  may  happen  to  any 
of  them,  thai  which  is  so  affected  bccomescoil- 
sequently  worse;  1>ut  in  the  like  case,  a  man 
becomes  both  better,  if  one-  may  say  so,  and 
more  worthy  of  praise  by  making  a  ritdit  use 
of  these  accidents.  And.  finally  remember  that 
nothing-  harms  him  who  is  really  a  citi/en, 
which  does  not  harm  the  state;  nor  yet  does 
anvthincr  harm  the  state,  which  does  not 


268  ftbOUQbtS.  [BookX. 


harm  law  [order];  and  of  these  things  which 
are  called  misfortunes  not  one  harms  law. 
What  then  does  not  harm  law  does  not  harm 
either  state  or  citizen. 

34.  To  him  who  is  penetrated  by  true  prin- 
ciples even  the  briefest  precept  is  sufficient,  and 
any  common  precept,  to  remind  him  that  he 
should  be  free  from  grief  and  fear.     For  ex- 
ample: — 

"Leaves,  some  the  wind  scatters  on  the  ground  — 
So  is  the  race  of  men.'1'- 

Leaves,  also,  are  thy  children;  and  leaves,  too, 
are  they  who  cry  out  as  if  they  were  worthy  of 
credit  and  bestow  their  praise,  or  on  the  con- 
trary curse,  or  secretly  blame  and  sneer;  and 
leaves,  in  like  manner,  are  those  who  shall  re- 
ceive and  transmit  a  man's  fame  to  after-times. 
For  all  such  things  as  these  "are  produced  in 
the  season  of  spring,"  as  the  poet  says;  then 
the  wind  casts  them  down;  then  the  forest 
produces  other  leaves  in  their  places.  But  a 
brief  existence  is  common  to  all  things,  and  yet 
thou  avoidest  and  pursuest  all  things  as  if  they 
would  be  eternal.  A  little  time,  and  thou 
shalt  close  thy  eyes;  and  him  who  has  attended 
thee  to  thy  grave  another  soon  will  lament. 

35.  The  healthy  eye  ought  to  see  all  visible 
things  and  not  to  say,  I  wish  for  green  things; 
for   this   is   the   condition  of  a    diseased  eye. 

*  Homer,  II.,  vi.  146. 


Book  X.]     /fcarcus  Hurclius  Antoninus.  269 

And  the  healthy  hearing  and  smelling  ought 
to  he  ready  to  perceive.'  all  that  can  lie  heard 
and  smelled.  And  the  healthy  stomach  ought 
to  he  with  respect  to  all  food  just  a>  the  mill 
with  respect  to  all  things  which  it  is  formed  to 
grind.  And  accordingly  the  health}'  under- 
standing ought  to  he  prepared  for  everything 
which  happens;  hut  that  which  says,  Let  my 
dear  children  live,  and  let  all  men  praise  what- 
ever I  may  do,  is  an  eye  which  seeks  tor  green 
things,  or  teeth  which  seek  lor  soft  things. 

36.  There  is  no  man  so  fortunate  that  there 
shall  not  he  hy  him  when  he  is  dying  some 
who  are  pleased  with  what  is  i^oing  to  happen.* 
Suppose  that  he  was  a  good  and  wise  man,  will 
there  not  he  at  least  some  one  to  say  to  him- 
sell,  Let  us  at  last  hreathe  freely,  heing  relieved 
from  this  schoolmaster?  It  is  true  that  he  was 
harsh  to  none  of  us,  hut  I  perceived  that  he 
tacitly  condemns  us. --This  is  what  is  said  of  a 
good  man.  Hut  in  our  own  case  how  many 
other  things  are  there  for  which  there  are  many 
who  wish  to  get  rid  of  us?  Thou  wilt  con- 
sider this,  then,  when  thoti  art  dying,  and  ih»u 
wilt  depart  more  contentedly  hy  reflecting  thus: 
I  am  going  away  from  such  a  life,  in  which 
even  my  associates  in  hehalf  of  whom  I  have 
striven  so  much,  prayed,  and  cared,  themselves 


270  GbOUflbtS.  [Book  X. 

wish  me  to  depart,  hoping  perchance  to  get 
some  little  advantage  by  it.  Why  then  should 
a  man  cling  to  a  longer  stay  here?  Do  not, 
however,  for  this  reason  go  away  less  kindly 
disposed  to  them,  but  preserving  thy  own 
character,  and  friendly  and  benevolent  and 
mild,  and  on  the  other  hand  not  as  if  thou  wast 
torn  away;  but  as  when  a  man  dies  a  quiet 
death,  the  poor  soul  is  easily  separated  from 
the  body,  such  also  ought  thy  departure  from 
men  to  be,  for  nature  united  thee  to  them  and 
associated  thee.  But  does  she  now  dissolve  the 
union  ?  Well,  I  am  separated  as  from  kins- 
men, not  however  dragged  resisting,  but  with- 
out compulsion  ;  for  this,  too,  is  one  of  the 
things  according  to  nature. 

37.  Accustom  thyself  as  much  as  possible  on 
the  occasion  of  anything  being  done  by  any 
person   to  inquire  with  thyself,  For  what  ob- 
ject is  thi?  man  doing  this  ?     But  begin  with 
thyself,  and  examine  thyself  first. 

38.  Remember   that    this    which    pulls    the 
strings  vs  the  thing  which   is  hidden  within  : 
this  is  the  power  of  persuasion,  this  is  life,  this, 
if  one  may  so  say,  is  man.     In  contemplating 
thyseJt   never   include    the   vessel    which  sur- 
rounds thee  and  these  instruments  which  are 
attached  about  it.      For  they   are  like   to  an 
axe.,  differing  only  in  this,  that   they  grow  to 
tl'*e  body.      For  indeed  there  is  no  more  use  in 
t^ese    parts   without    the   cause  which  moves 
and  checks    them  than  in  the  weaver's  shut- 


BonkX.]      /foarcus  Hurclius  Hntoninue.  271 

tie,    and    the    writer's    pen,    and    the   driver's 
whip.* 

*  See  the  Philosophy  of  Antoninus,  p.  72,  note. 


[Book  XL 


XL 

are  the  properties  of  the  rational 
soul:  it  sees  itself,  analyzes  itself,  and 
makes  itself  such  as  it  chooses;  the  fruit  which 
it  bears  itself  enjoys — for  the  fruits  of  plants 
and  that  in  animals  which  corresponds  to  fruits 
others  enjoy — it  obtains  its  own  end,  wherever 
the  limit  of  life  may  be  fixed.  Not  as  in  a 
dance  and  in  a  play  and  in  such  like  things, 
where  the  whole  action  is  incomplete  if  any- 
thing cuts  it  short;  but  in  every  part,  and 
wherever  it  may  be  stopped,  it  makes  what 
has  been  set  before  it  full  and  complete,  so  that 
it  can  say,  I  have  \vhat  is  my  own.  And  fur- 
ther it  traverses  the  whole  universe,  and  the 
surrounding  vacuum,  and  surveys  its  form,  and 
it  extends  itself  into  the  infinity  of  time,  and 
embraces  and  comprehends  the*  periodical 
renovation  of  all  things,  and  it  comprehends 
that  those  who  come  after  us  will  see  nothing 
new,  nor  have  those  before  us  seen  anything 
more,  but  in  a  manner  he  who  is  forty  years 
old,  if  he  has  any  understanding  at  all,  has 
seen  by  virtue  of  the  uniformity  that  prevails 
all  things  which  have  been  and  all  that  will  be. 
This  too  is  a  property  of  the  rational  soul,  love 

*  T/}ij  rreptofiuajv  •xahiyyEVEaiav.     See  v.    13,  32  ;  x.  7. 


Book  XI.]     rtbarcus  SurcUus  Untoniuns.          273 

of  one's  neighbor  and  truth  and  modesty,  and 
to  value  nothing  more  than  itself,  which  is  also 
the  property  of  Law.  i:  Thus  the  right  reason 
differs  not  at  all  from  the  reason  of  justice. 

2.  Thou    wilt    set    little    value    on    pleasing 
song  and  dancing  and  the  pancratium,  if  thou 
•wilt  distribute  the  melody  of  the  voice  into  its 
several  sounds,  and   ask  thyself  as  to  each,  if 
thou   art   mastered    by    this;   for   thou    wilt   be 
prevented  by  shame  from  confessing  it  :   and  in 
the   matter  of  dancing,    if  at   each    movement 
and   attitude   thou  wilt  do   the  same;   and  the 
like  also  in  the  matter  of  the  pancratium.      In 
all  things,  then,  except  virtue  and  the  acts  of 
virtue,  remember  to  apply  thyself  to  their  sev- 
eral   parts,    and   by    this   division    to    come    to 
value  them   little:   and  apply  this  rule  also  to 
thy  whole  life. 

3.  What  a  soul   that  is  which  is  ready,  if  at 
any   moment   it   must   be    separated    from    the 
body,  and  ready  either  to  be  extinguished  or 
dispersed  or  continue  to  exist  ;  but  so  that  this 
readiness  comes  from  a  man's  own  judgment, 
not   from   mere  obstinacy,   as  with   the   Chris- 
tians, f  but  considerately  and  with  dignity  and 
in  a   way   to  persuade   another,  without  tragic 
show. 

4.  Have  I  done  something  for  the  general 

*  Law  is  the  order  hv  which  all  things  are  governed. 

t  See  the  Life  of  Antoninus.  This  is  the  only  pas- 
Sftge  in  which  the  emperor  speaks  of  the  Christians. 
Kpictetus  liv.  7,  6)  names  them  Galilaei. 


274  GbOUCJbtS.  [Book  XL 

interest?  Well  then,  I  have  had  my  reward. 
Let  this  always  be  present  to  thy  mind,  and 
never  stop  [doing  such  good]. 

5.  What    is    thy    art?     To   be   good.     And 
how  is  this  accomplished  well  except  by  gen- 
eral principles,   some  about  the  nature  of  the 
universe,  and  others  about  the  proper  constitu- 
tion of  man  ? 

6.  At  first  tragedies  were   brought   on   the 
stage  as  means  of  reminding  men  of  the  things 
which  happen  to  them,  and  that  it  is  according 
to  nature  for  things  to  happen  so,  and  that,  if 
you  are  delighted  with  what  is  shown  on  the 
stage,   you  should  not  be  troubled  with  that 
which  takes  place  on   the  larger  stage.     For 
you   see    that   these    things    must    be    accom- 
plished thus,    and  that  even  they  bear  them 
who  cry  out,*    'O  Cithaeron."     And,  indeed, 
some   things  are  said    well    by    the   dramatic 
writers,    of  which    kind    is   the  following   es- 
pecially:— 

"  Me  and  my  children  if  the  gods  neglect, 
This  has  its  reason  too.  "f 

And  again, — 

"  We  must  not  chafe  and  fret  at  that  which  happens.'' 
And,— 

"  Life's  harvest  reap  like  the  wheat's  fruitful  ear.' 
And  other  things  of  the  same  kind. 

*  Sophocles,  Oedipus  Rex.         f  See  vii.  41,  38,  40. 


Book  XL]     /Ifcnrcus  Burclius  Bntomnus.  275 

After  tragedy  the  old  comedy  was  intro- 
duced, which  had  a  magisterial  freedom  of 
speech,  and  1>y  its  very  plainness  of  speaking 
\vas  useful  in  reminding  men  to  beware  of  in- 
solence; and  lor  this  purpose  too  Diogenes  used 
to  take  from  these  writers. 

But  as  to  the  middle  comedy,  which  came 
next,  observe  what  it  was,  and  again,  for  what 
object  the  new  comedy  was  introduced,  which 
gradually  sank  down  into  a  mere  mimic  arti- 
fice. That  some  good  things  are  said  even  by 
these  writers,  everybody  knows:  but  the  whole 
plan  of  such  poetry  and  dramaturgy,  to  what 
end  does  it  look  ? 

7.  How  plain  does  it  appear  that  there  is  not 
another  condition  of  life  so  well  suited  for  phil- 
osophi/.ing  as  this  in  which  thon  now  happen- 
est  to  be.' 

S.  A  branch  cut  off  from  the  adjacent  branch 
must  of  necessity  be  cut  off  from  the  whole 
tree  also.  So  too  a  man  when  he  is  separated 
Irom  another  man  has  fallen  off  from  the  whole 
social  community.  Now  as  to  a  branch,  an- 
other cuts  it  off;  but  a  man  by  his  own  act  sep- 
arates himself  from  his  neighbor  when  he  hates 
him  and  turns  away  from  him,  and  he  does 
not  know  that  he  has  at  the  some  time  cut 
himself  off  from  the  whole  social  system.  Yet 
he  has  this  privilege  certainly  from  Zeus,  who 
framed  society,  for  it  is  in  our  power  to  grow 
again  to  that  which  is  near  to  us,  and  again  to 
become  a  part  which  helps  to  make  up  the 


276  STbOUGbtS.  [Book  XL 

whole.  However,  if  it  often  happens,  this  kind 
of  separation,  it  makes  it  difficult  for  that 
which  detaches  itself  to  be  brought  to  unity 
and  to  be  restored  to  its  former  condition.  Fi- 
nally, the  branch,  which  from  the  first  grew 
together  with  the  tree,  and  has  continued  to 
have  one  life  with  it,  is  not  like  that  which 
after  being  cut  off  is  then  ingrafted,  for  this  is 
something'  like  what  the  gardeners  mean  when 
they  say  that  it  grows  with  the  rest  of  the  tree, 
but-r-  that  it  has  not  the  same  mind  with  it. 

9.  As  those  who  try   to  stand  in    thy  way 
when  thou  art  proceeding  according  to  right 
reason  will  not  be  able  to  turn  thee  aside  from 
thy  proper  action,   so  neither  let  them   drive 
thee  from  thy  benevolent  feelings  toward  them, 
but  be  on  thy  guard  equally  in  both  matters, 
'lot  only  in  the  matter  of  steady  judgment  and 
action,  but  also  in  the  matter  of  gentleness  to 
those  who  try   to  hinder  or  otherwise  trouble 
thee.      For  this  also  is  a  weakness,  to  be  vexed 
at  them,  as  well   as  to  be   diverted   from   thy 
course  of  action  and  to  give  way  through  fear  ; 
lor  both  are  equally  deserters  from  their  post,— 
the  man  who  does  it  through  fear,  and  the  man 
who  is  alienated  from  him  who  is  by  nature  a 
kinsman  and  a  friend. 

10.  There  is  no  nature  which  is  inferior  to 
art,  for  the  arts  imitate  the  natures  of  tilings. 
But  if  this  is  so,  that  nature  which  is  the  most 
perfect    and    the    most   comprehensive   of  all 
natures,  cannot  fall  short  of  the  skill  of  art 


Book  XI.]     /ifcarcus  Surclius  antoninua.          277 

Now  all  arts  do  the  inferior  things  for  the  s;ike 
of  the  superior;  therefore  the  universal  nature 
does  so  too.  And,  indeed,  hence  is  the  origin 
of  justice,  and  injustice  the  other  virtues  h;ive 
their  foundation:  ior  justice  \vill  not  be  ob- 
served, if  we  either  care  for  middle  things 
[things  indifferent j,  or  are  easily  deceived  and 
careles<  and  changeable  (v.  16.  30;  vii.  55). 

11.  If  the  things  do  not  come   to  thee,  the 
pursuits  and  avoidances  of  which  disturb  thee, 
.still  in  a  manner  thou  goest  to  them.     Lei  then 
thy  judgment  about  them   be  at  rest,  and   they 
will  remain  quiet,   and    thou  wilt  not   be-  'seen 
either  pursuing  or  avoiding. 

12.  The  spherical  form  of  the  soul  maintains 
its  figure  when   it  is  neither  extended  towards 
any    object,   nor   contracted    inwards,    nor   dis- 
persed, nor  sinks  down,  but   is  illuminated   by 
light,  by  which  it  sees  the  truth,—  the  truth  of 
all   things  ami  the  truth  that  is  in  itself  i  viii. 
41,  45;  xii.  3). 

13.  Suppose  any  man  .shall  despise  me.     Let 
him  look  to  that   himself.      Hut  I  will   look  to 
this,  that   I   be  not  discovered  doing  or  saying 
anything  deserving  of  contempt.      Shall    any 
man  hate  me?      Let  him  look  to  it.      IUit  I  wil1 
be  mild   and    l>enevolent   towards  every   man, 
and  ready  to  show  even  him  his  mistake,  not 
reproachfully,  nor  yet  as  making  a  display  of 
my  endurance,  but  nobly  and  honestly,  like  the 
great   Phoeion,  unless  indeed  he  only  assumed 
it.      For  the  interior  [parts]  ought  to  be  such. 


278  CbOUCjbtS.  [Book  XL 

and  a  man  ought  to  be  seen  by  the  gods  neither 
dissatisfied  with  anything  nor  complaining. 
For  what  evil  is  it  to  thee,  if  thou  art  now  doing 
what  is  agreeable  to  thy  own  nature,  and  art 
satisfied  with  that  which  at  this  moment  is  suit- 
able to  the  nature  of  the  universe,  since  thou 
art  a  human  being  placed  at  thy  post  in  order 
that  what  is  for  the  common  advantage  may  be 
done  in  some  way  ? 

14.  Men  despise  one  another  and  flatter  one 
another;   and    men    wish    to   raise    themselves 
above  one  another,  and  crouch  before  one  an- 
other. 

15.  How  unsound  and  insincere  is  he  who 
says,  I  have  determined  to  deal  with  thee  in  a 
fair  way! — What  are  thou  doing,  man?     There 
is  no  occasion  to  give  this  notice.      It  will  soon 
show  itself  by  acts.     The  voice  ought    to  be 
plainly  written    on    the  forehead.     Such  as  a 
man's   character  is, -f  lie  immediately  shows  it 
in  his  eyes,  just  as  he  who  is  beloved  forthwith 
reads  everything   in  the  eyes  of  lovers.     The 
man  who  is  honest  and  good  ought  to  be  ex- 
actly like  a  man  who  smells  strong,  so  that  the 
bystander  as  soon  as  he  comes  near  him  must 
smell  whether  he  choose  or  not.     But  the  af- 
fectation of  simplicity  is  like  a  crooked  stick.* 

*  Instead  of  m«'i'/  in/  Sauinaise  reads  ni«iii:}~>j.  There  is 
a  Greek  proverb,  fji./ru.-lin-  Ei-'/.m'  oriV-or  ijrfii'jv  :  "  You 
cannot  make  a  crooked  stick  straight.1' 

The  \volfish  friendship  is  an  allusion  to  the  fable  of 
the  sheep  and  the  wolves. 


Book  xi.  i     flfoarcus  Burelius  Bntoninus.          279 

Nothing  is  more  disgraceful  than  a  \volfisli 
friendship  [  faKe  friendship].  Avoid  this  most 
of  all.  The  good  and  .simple  and  benevolent 
slio\v  all  these  things  in  the  eyes,  and  there  is 
no  mistaking. 

K).  As  to  living  in  the  best  \vuy,  this  power 
is  in  the  soul,  if  it  be  indifferent  to  things 
\vhieh  are  indifferent.  And  it  will  be  indiffer- 
ent, if  it  looks  on  eaeh  of  these  things  sepa- 
rately and  all  together,  and  if  it  remembers 
that  not  one  of  them  produces  in  us  an  opinion 
about  itself,  nor  comes  Lo  us;  but  these  things 
remain  immovable,  and  it  is  \ve  ourselves  who 
produce  the  judgments  about  them,  and,  as  we 
may  say,  write  them  in  ourselves,  it  being  in 
our  power  not  to  write  them,  and  it  being  in 
our  power,  if  perchance  these  judgments  have 
imperceptibly  got  admission  to  <>ur  minds,  to 
wipe  them  out;  and  if  we  remember  also  that 
such  attention  will  only  be  for  a  short  time, 
and  then  life  will  be  at  an  end.  Resides,  what 
trouble  is  there  at  all  in  doing  this?  For  if 
these  things  are  according  to  nature,  rejoice  in 
them  and  they  will  be  easy  to  thee:  but  if  con- 
trary to  nature,  seek  what  is  conformable  to 
thy  own  nature,  and  strive  towards  this,  even 
if  it  bring  no  reputation;  for  every  man  is 
allowed  to  seek  his  own  good. 

17.  Consider  whence  each  thing  is  come, 
and  of  what  it  consists,-}-  and  into  what  it 
changes,  and  what  kind  of  a  thing  it  will  be 
when  it  has  changed,  and  that  it  will  sustain 
no  harm. 


280  abougbts.  [Book  xi 

18.  [If  any  have  offended  against  thee,  con- 
sider first]:  What  is  my  relation  to  men,  and 
that  we  are  made  for  one  another;  and  in  an- 
other respect  I  was  made  to  be  set  over  them, 
as  a  ram  over  the  flock  or  a  bull  over  the  herd. 
But  examine  the  matter  from  first  principles, 
from  this.  If  all  things  are  not  mere  atoms,  it 
is  nature  which  orders  all  things:  if  this  is  so, 
the  inferior  things  exist  for  the  sake  of  the 
superior,  and  these  for  the  sake  of  one  another 
(ii.  i;  ix.  39;  v.  16;  iii.  4). 

Second,  consider  what  kind  of  men  they  are 
at  table,  in  bed,  and  so  forth;  and  particularly, 
under  what  compulsions  in  respect  of  opinions 
they  are;  and  as  to  their  acts,  consider  with 
what  pride  they  do  what  they  do  (viii.  14; 
ix.  34). 

Third,  that  if  men  do  rightly  what  they  do, 
we  ought  not  to  be  displeased:  but  if  they  do 
not  right,  it  is  plain  that  they  do  so  involunta- 
rily and  in  ignorance.  For  as  every  soul  is 
unwillingly  deprived  of  the  truth,  so  also  is  it 
unwillingly  deprived  of  the  power  of  behaving 
to  each  man  according  to  his  deserts.  Accord- 
ingly men  are  pained  when  they  are  called  un- 
just, ungrateful,  and  greedy,  and  in  a  word 
wrong-doers  to  their  neighbors  (vii.  62,  63;  ii. 
i;  vii.  26;  viii.  29). 

Fourth,  consider  that  thou  also  doest  many 
things  wrong,  and  that  thou  art  a  man  like 
others;  and  even  if  thou  dost  abstain  from  cer- 
tain faults,  still  thou  hast  the  disposition  to 


Book  XL]     /Ifcarcus  Hurclius  Bntonfnus.  281 

commit  them,  though  cither  through  coward- 
ice, or  concern  about  reputation,  or  some  such 
mean  motive,  thou  dost  abstain  from  such 
faults  (i.  17). 

Fifth,  consider  that  thou  dost  not  even 
understand  whether  men  are  doing  wrong  or 
not,  for  many  things  are  done  with  a  certain 
reference  to  circumstances.  And  in  short,  a 
man  must  learn  a  great  deal  to  enable  him  to 
pass  a  correct  judgment  on  another  man's  acts 
(ix._3S;  iv.  51). 

Sixth,  consider  when  thou  art  much  vexed 
or  grieved,  that  man's  life  is  only  a  moment, 
and  after  a  short  time  we  are  all  laid  out  dead 
(vii.  58;  iv.  48). 

Seventh,  that  it  is  not  men's  acts  which 
disturb  us,  for  those  acts  have  their  foundation 
in  men's  ruling  principles,  but  it  is  our  own 
opinions  which  disturb  us.  Take  away  these 
opinions  then,  and  resolve,  to  dismiss  thy  judg- 
ment about  an  act  as  if  it  were  something 
grievous,  and  thy  anger  is  gone.  How  then 
shall  I  take  away  these  opinions?  By  reflect- 
ing that  no  wrongful  act  of  another  brings 
shame  on  thee:  for  unless  that  which  is  shame- 
ful is  alone  bad,  thou  also  must  of  necessity  do 
many  things  wrong,  and  become  a  robber  and 
everything  else  ( v.  25;  vii.  16). 

Eighth,  consider  how  much  more  pain  is 
brought  on  us  by  the  anger  and  vexation 
caused  by  such  acts  than  by  the  acts  them- 
selves, at  which  we  are  angry  and  vexed  (iv. 
39,  49;  vii.  24). 


282  CbOUgbtS.  [Book  XL 

Ninth,  consider  that  a  good  disposition  is 
invincible  if  it  be  genuine,  and  not  an  affected 
smile  and  acting  a  part.  For  what  will  the 
most  violent  man  do  to  thee,  if  thou  continuest 
to  be  of  a  kind  disposition  towards  him,  and  if, 
as  opportunity  offers,  thou  gently  admonishest 
him  and  calmly  correctest  his  errors  at  the 
very  time  when  he  is  trying  to  do  thee  harm, 
saying,  Not  so,  my  child:  we  are  constituted 
by  nature  for  something  else:  I  shall  certainly 
not  l)e  injured,  but  thou  art  injuring  thyself, 
my  child. — And  show  him  with  gentle  tact  and 
by  general  principles  that  this  is  so,  and  that 
even  bees  do  not  do  as  he  does,  nor  any  ani- 
mals which  are  formed  by  nature  to  be  gre- 
garious. And  thou  must  do  this  neither  with 
any  double  meaning  nor  in  the  way  of  re- 
proach, but  affectionately  and  without  any 
rancor  in  thy  soul;  and  not  as  if  thou  wert 
lecturing  him,  nor  yet  that  any  bystander  may 
admire,  but  either  when  he  is  alone,  and  if 
others  are  present  .  .  .  * 

Remember  these  nine  rules,  as  if  thou  hadst 
received  them  as  a  gift  from  the  Muses,  and 
begin  at  last  to  be  a  man  while  thou  livest. 
But  thou  must  equally  avoid  flattering  men 
and  being  vexed  at  them,  for  both  are  un- 
social and  lead  to  harm.  And  let  this  truth 
be  present  to  thee  in  the  excitement  of 
anger,  that  to  be  moved  by  passion  is  not 
manly,  but  that  mildness  and  gentleness,  as 

*  It  appears  that  there  is  a  defect  in  the  text  here. 


Book  xi.j     /fcarcus  Burelius  Bntoninus.          283 

they  are  more  agreeable  to  huinaii  nature,  so 
also  are  they  more  manly;  and  he  who  pos- 
sesses these  qualities  possesses  strength,  nerves, 
and  courage,  and  not  the  man  who  is  subject  to 
fits  of  passi'  in  and  discontent.  I"<  >r  in  the  same 
degree  in  which  a  man's  mind  is  nearer  to  free- 
dom from  all  passion,  in  the  same  degree  also 
is  it  nearer  to  strength:  and  as  the  sense-  of  pain 
is  a  characteristic  ol  weakness,  so  also  is  aii^er. 
For  he  who  yields  to  pain  and  he  who  yields 
to  anger,  both  are  wounded  and  both  submit. 

But  if  thou  wilt,  receive  also  a  tenth  present 
from  the  leader  of  the  Muses  [Apollo],  and  it 
is  this.  —  that  to  expect  bad  men  not  to  do 
wrong  is  madness,  for  he-  who  expects  this  de- 
sires an  impossibility.  But  to  allow  men  to  be- 
have so  to  others,  and  to  expect  them  not  to  do 
thee  any  wrong,  is  irrational  and  tyrannical. 

10.  There  are  four  principal  aberrations  of 
the  superior  faculty  against  which  thou  shouldst 
be  constantly  on  thy  guard,  and  when  thou 
hast  detected  them,  thou  shouldst  wipe  them 
out  and  say  on  each  occasion  thus:  This 
thought  is  not  necessary:  this  tends  to  destroy 
social  union:  this  which  thou  art  going  to  say 
comes  not  from  the  real  thoughts:  for  thou 
shouldst  consider  it  among  the  most  alxurd  of 
things  for  a  man  not  to  speak  from  his  real 
thoughts.  But  the  fourth  is  when  thou  siialt 
reproach  thyself  for  anything,  for  this  is  an  evi- 
dence of  the  diviner  part  within  thee  being 
overpowered  and  yielding  to  the  less  honorable. 


284  GbOUflbtS.  [Bonk  XI. 

and  to  the  perishable  part,  the  body,  and  to  its 
gross  pleasures  (iv.  24;  ii.  16). 

20.  Thy  aerial  part  and  all  the  fiery  parts 
which  are  mingled  in  thee,  though  by  nature 
they  have  an  upward  tendency,  still  in  obe- 
dience to  the  disposition  of  the  universe  they  are 
overpowered  here  in  the  compound  mass  [the 
body].  And  also  the  whole  of  the  earthy  part 
in  thee  and  the  watery,  though  their  tendency 
is  downward,  still  are  raised  up  and  occupy  a 
position  which  is  not  their  natural  one.  In  this 
manner  then  the  elemental  parts  obey  the  uni- 
versal; for  when  they  have  been  fixed  in  any 
place,  perforce  they  remain  there  until  again 
the  universal  shall  sound  the  signal  for  dissolu- 
tion. Is  it  not  then  strange  that  thy  intelli- 
gent part  only  should  be  disobedient  and  dis- 
contented with  its  own  place?  And  yet  no 
force  is  imposed  on  it,  but  only  those  things 
which  are  conformable  to  its  nature:  still  it 
does  not  submit,  but  is  carried  in  the  opposite 
direction.  For  the  movement  towards  injustice 
and  intemperance  and  to  anger  and  grief  and 
fear  is  nothing  else  than  the  act  of  one  who  de- 
viates from  nature.  And  also  when  the  ruling 
faculty  is  discontented  with  anything  that  hap- 
pens, then  too  it  deserts  its  post:  for  it  is  con- 
stituted for  piety  and  reverence  towards  the 
gods  no  less  than  for  justice.  For  these  qual- 
ities also  are  comprehended  under  the  generic 
term  of  contentment  with  the  constitution  of 


Book  xi.]     flBarctie  Burelfus  Sntonfnus.          285 

things,  and  indeed  they  are  prior*  to  acts  of 
justice. 

21.  He  who  has  not  one  and  always  the 
s;iine  object  in  lite,  cannot  be  one  and  the  same- 
all  through  his  liie.  P>nt  what  I  have  said  is 
not  enough,  unless  this  also  is  added,  what 
this  object  ought  to  be.  For  as  there  is  not  the 
same  opinion  about  all  the  things  which  in 
some  way  or  other  are  considered  by  the  ma- 
jority to  be  good,  but  only  about  some  certain 
things,  that  is,  things  which  concern  the  com- 
mon interest,  so  also  ought  we  to  propose  to 

*  Tin-  \vonl  -iii-n.li-ri-iHi,  which  is  here-  translated 
"prior,"  may  also  mean  "superior;"  but  Antoninus 
sec-ins  to  sav  thai  pictv  aii'l  reverence  of  the  ,^'ods  pre- 
cede all  virtues,  and  that  other  virtues  are  derived 
from  them,  even  justice,  which  hi  another  passage 
(xi.  10  he  makes  the  foundation  of  all  virtues.  The 
ancient  notion  of  justice  is  that  of  giving  to  every  one 
his  due.  It  is  not  a  le^al  definition,  as  some  have 
supposed,  hut  a  moral  rule  which  law  cannot  in  all 
cases  eulorce.  Resides,  law  lias  its  own  rules,  which 
are  sometimes  moral  and  sometimes  immoral;  but  it 
enforces  them  all  simple  because  they  are  general 
rules,  and  if  it  did  not  or  could  not  enforce  the'ii,  so 
far  Law  would  not  be  Law.  Justice,  or  the  doin^ 
what  is  just,  implies  a  universal  rule  and  obedience  to 
it  ;  and  as  we  all  live  under  universal  I, aw,  which 
commands  both  our  body  and  our  intelligence,  and  is 
the  law  of  our  nature,  that  is,  the  law  of  the  whole 
constitution  of  a  man,  we  must  endeavor  to  discover 
\vhat  this  supreme  Law  is.  It  is  the  will  of  the  power 
that  rules  all.  Kv  acting  in  obedience  to  this  will,  we 
do  justice,  and  by  consequence  everything  else 
we  ouifht  to  do. 


2S6  CbOU0btS.  [Book  XL 

ourselves  an  object  which  shall  be  of  a  common 
kind  [social]  and  political.  For  he  who  directs 
all  his  own  efforts  to  this  object,  will  make  all 
his  acts  alike,  and  thus  will  always  be  the 
same. 

22.  Think  of  the  country  mouse  and  of  the 
town  mouse,  and  of  the  alarm  and  trepidation 
of  the  town  mouse. * 

23.  Socrates  used  to  call  the  opinions  of  the 
many  by  the  name  of  Lamiae, — bugbears  to 
frighten  children. 

24.  The    Lacedaemonians    at    their    public 
spectacles  used  to  set  seats  in   the   shnde  for 
strangers,  but  themselves  sat  down  anywhere. 

25.  Socrates  excused  himself  to  Perdiccasf 
for  not  going  to  him,  saying,  It  is  because  I 
would  not  perish  by  the  worst  of  all  ends;  that 
is,  I  would  not  receive  a  favor  and  then  be  un- 
able to  return  it. 

26.  In  the  writings  of  the  [Ephesians];|;  there 
was  this  precept,  constantly  to  think  of  some 
one  of  the  men  of  former  times  who  practiced 
virtue. 

27.  The  Pythagoreans  bid  us  in  the  morning 
look  to  the  heavens  that  we  may  be  reminded 

*The  storv  is  told  by  Horace  in  his  Satires  (ii.  6), 
and  by  others  since,  but  not.  better. 

f  I'erluips  the  emperor  made  a  mistake  here,  for 
other  writers  say  that  it  \vas  Archelaus,  the  soil  of 
Perdiccas,  \vho  invited  Socrates  to  Macedonia. 

t  Gataker  suggested  'ErriKorpeiuv  for  'V,<!>eaiun>. 


Book  XL]      /fcarcus  Burclius  'Bntoninur.          287 

of  those  bodies  which  continually  do  the 
same  things  and  in  the  same  manner  perform 
their  work,  and  also  be  reminded  o!  their  pur- 
ity and  nudity.  For  there  is  no  veil  over  a 
star. 

-S.  Consider  what  a  man  Socrates  was  when 
he  dressed  himself  in  a  skin,  after  Xanthippe 
had  taken  his  cloak  and  gone  out,  and  what 
Socrates  said  to  his  friends  who  were  ashamed 
of  him  and  drew  back  from  him  when  they 
saw  him  dressed  thus. 

29.  Neither  in  writing  nor  in  reading  wilt 
thou  be  able  to  lay  down  rules  tor  others  betore 
tliou  shalt  have  first  learned  to  obey  rule^  thy- 
self. Much  more  is  this  so  in  life. 


33.  To  look  for  the  fig  in  winter  is  a  mad- 
man's act:  such  is  he  who  looks  for  his  child 
when  it  is  no  longer  allowed  (Epictetus,   iii. 
24,  87). 

34.  When    a    man    kisses    his    child,    said 
Epictetus,  he  should  whisper  to  himself,    "To- 
morrow perchance  thou  wilt  die." — But  those 
are  words  of  bad  omen. —  "  Xo  word  is  a  word 
of  bad   omen,"    said    Epictetus,    "which    ex- 
presses any  work  of  nature;  or  if  it  is  so,  it  is 


288  Gbougbts.  [Book  XL 

also  a  word  of  bad  omen  to  speak  of  the  ears 
of  corn  being  reaped"  (Epictetus,  iii.  24,  88). 

35.  The  unripe  grape,  the  ripe  bunch,  the 
dried  grape,  are  all  changes,  not  into  nothing, 
but    into    something    which    exists    not    yet 
(Epictetus,  iii.  24). 

36.  No   man   can   rob   us   of  our   free  will 
(Epictetus,  iii.  22,  105). 

37.  Epictetus  also  said,  a  man  must  discover 
an  art  [or  rules]  with  respect  to  giving  his  as- 
sent; and  in  respect  to  his  movements  he  must 
be  careful  that  they  be  made  with  regard  to 
circumstances,    that   they   be   consistent   with 
social  interests,  that  they  have  regard  to  the 
value  of  the  object;  and  as  to  sensual  desire, 
he  should  altogether  keep  away  from  it;  and 
as  to  avoidance  [aversion],  he  should  not  show 
it  with  respect  to  any  of  the  things  which  are 
not  in  our  power. 

38.  The  dispute  then,  he  said,  is  not  about 
an}-  common  matter,  but  about  being  mad  or 
not. 

39.  Socrates  used  to  say,  What  do  you  want, 
souls  of  rational  men  or  irrational  ? — Souls  of 
rational  men. — Of  what  rational  men,  sound 
or  unsound? — Sound. — \Yhythen  do  you  not 
seek  for  them  ? — Because  we  have  them. — Why 
then  do  you  fight  and  quarrel? 


Book  Xll.]    Marcus  Hurclius  Hntonlnus.          289 


ALL  those  things  at  which  them  wishest  to 
arrive  by  a  circuitous  road  thou  canst  have 
now,  if  thou  dost  not  refuse  them  to  thyself. 
And  this  means,  if  thou  wilt  take  no  notice  of 
all  the  {iast,  and  trust  the  future  to  providence, 
and  direct  the  present  only  conformably  to 
•piety  and  justice.  Conformably  to  piety  that 
thou  mayest  be  content  with  the  lot  which 
is  assigned  to  thee,  for  nature  designed  it 
for  the*.-  and  thee  for  it.  Conformably  to 
justice,  that  thou  mayst^  always  speak  the 
truth  freely  and  without  disguise,  and  do 
the  things  which  are  agreeable  to  law  and  ac- 
cording '.o  the  worth  of  each.  And  let  neither 
another  man's  wickedness  hinder  thee,  nor 
opinion  nor  voice,  nor  yet  the  sensations  of  the 
poor  flesh  which  has  grown  about  thee;  for  the 
passive  part  will  look  to  this.  If,  then,  what- 
ever the  time  may  be  when  thou  shalt  be  near 
to  thy  departure,  neglecting  everything  else 
thou  shalt  respect  only  thy  ruling  faculty  and 
the  divinity  within  thee,  and  if  thou  shalt  be 
afraid  not  because  thou  must  some  time  cease 
to  live,  but  if  thou  shalt  fear  never  to  have  be- 
gun to  live  according  to  nature — then  thou 
wilt  be  a  man  worthy  of  the  universe  which 
has  produced  thee,  and  thou  wilt  ceu.se  to  be  a 
19 


290  Gbougbts.  [Book  in 

stranger  in  thy  native  land,  and  to  wonder  at 
things  which  happen  daily  as  if  they  were 
something  unexpected,  and  to  be  dependent  on 
this  or  that. 

2.  God  sees  the  minds  [ruling  principles]  of 
all  men  bared  of  the  material  vesture  and  rind 
and  impurities.      For  with  his  intellectual  part 
alone  he  touches  the  intelligence  only  which 
has  flowed  and  been  derived  from  himself  into 
these  bodies.     And  if  thou  also  usest  thyself  to 
do   this,    thou    wilt  rid   thyself  of  thy   much 
trouble.     For  he  who  regards  not  the  poor  flesh 
which   envelops  him,  surely   will   not  trouble 
himself  by  looking  after  raiment  and  dwelling 
and  fame  and  such  like  externals  and  show. 

3.  The  things  are  three  of  which   thou  art 
composed:  a   little' body,  a  little  breath  [life], 
intelligence.     Of  these  the  first  two  are  thine, 
so  far  as  it   is  thy  duty  to  take  care  of  them; 
but  the  third  alone  is  properly  thine.     There- 
fore if  thou  shalt  separate  from  tin-self,  that 
is,  from  thy  understanding,  whatever  others  do 
or  say,  and   whatever   thou  hast  done  or  said 
thyself,   and   whatever   future    things    trouble 
thee  because  they  may  happen,  and  whatever 
in    the    body  which  envelops   thee  or    in    the 
breath   [life],    which    is  by  nature   associated 
with  the  body,  is  attached  to  thee  independent 
of  thy  will,  and  whatever  the  external  circum- 
fluent vortex  whirls  round,  so  that  the  intel- 
lectual power  exempt  from  the  things  of  fate 
can  live  pure  and  free  by  itself,  doing  what  is 


Book  xii.]    /Rarcus  Burclius  Hntoninua.          291 

just  anil  accepting  \vhat  happens  and  saying 
the  truth:  if  lliou  wilt  separate,  I  say,  from 
this  ruling  faculty  the  things  whieh  are  at- 
tached to  it  by  thcinipres.sionsofsen.se,  and  the 
things  of  time  to  come  and  ol  time  that  is  ])ast, 
and  wilt  make  thyself  like  Kmpedocles'  sphere, 

"  All  round  and  in  its  jo\ous  ivst  reposing  ;"  "; 

and  if  thou  shalt  strive  to  live  only  what 
is  really  thy  life,  that  is,  the  present, — 
then  thou  wilt  be  able  to  pass  that  portion  of 
life  which  remains  for  thcc  up  to  the  time  of 
thy  death  free  from  perturbations,  nobly,  an* 
obedient  to  thy  own  daemon  [to  the  y,od  that 
is  within  thee]  (ii.  13,  17;  iii.  5,  6;  xi.  12). 

4.  I  have  often  wondered  how  it  is  that 
every  man  loves  himself  more  than  all  the  rest 
of  men,  but  yet  sets  less  value  on  his  own 
opinion  -  i  h'-n^h"  than  on  ,Iv  opinion  of 
others.  If  then  a  t;'od  or  a  wise  teacher  should 
present  himself  to  a  man  and  bid  him  to  think 
of  nothing  and  to  design  nothing  which  he 
would  not  express  as  soon  as  he  conceived  it, 
he  could  not  endure  it  even  for  a  single  day.]' 
So  much  more  respect  have  we  to  what  our 
neighbors  shall  think  of  us  than  to  what  we 
shall  think  of  ourselves. 


t  iii.  4- 


2g2  tTbOUflbtS.  [Book  XII. 

5.  How  can  it  be  that  the  gods,  after  having 
arranged  all  things  well  and  benevolently  for 
mankind,    have   overlooked    this    alone,    that 
some  men,  and  very  good  men,  and  men  who, 
as  we  may  say,    have   had  most   communion 
with  the  divinity,  and  through  pious  acts  and 
religious  observances  have  been  most  intimate 
with  the  divinity,  when  they  have  once  died 
should  never  exist  again,  but  should  be  com- 
pletely extinguished  ? 

But  if  this  is  so,  be  assured  that  if  it  ought 
to  have  been  otherwise,  the  gods  would  have 
done  it.  For  if  it  were  just,  it  would  also  be 
possible;  and  if  it  were  according  to  nature, 
nature  would  have  had  it  so.  But  because  it 
is  not  so,  if  in  fact  it  is  not  so,  be  thou  con- 
vinced that  it  ought  not  to  have  been  so:  for 
thou  seest  even  of  thyself  that  in  this  inquiry 
thou  art  disputing  with  the  Deity;  and  we 
should  not  thus  dispute  with  the  gods,  unless 
they  were  most  excellent  and  most  just;  but  if 
this  is  so,  they  would  not  have  allowed  any- 
thing in  the  ordering  of  the  universe  to  be  ne- 
glected unjustly  and  irrationally. 

6.  Practise  thyself  even  in  the  things  which 
thou  despairest  of  accomplishing.      For   even 
the  left  hand,  which  is  ineffectual  for  all  other 
things  for  want  of  practice,   holds  the  bridle 
more   vigorously  than   the  right  hand;  for   it 
has  been  practised  in  this. 

7.  Consider  in  what  condition  both  in  body 
and  soul  a  man  should  be  when  he  is  overtaken 


Book  XII.]    flfcarcu6  Burclius  HntOninus.  293. 

by  death;  and  consider  the  shortness  of  life, 
the  boundless  abyss  of  time  past  and  future, 
the  feebleness  of  all  matter. 

,8.  Contemplate  the  formative  principles 
[forms]  of  tilings  bare  of  their  coverings  the 
purposes  of  actions;  consider  what  pain  is,  what 
pleasure  is,  and  death,  and  fame;  who  is  t< >  him- 
self the  cause  of  his  uneasiness;  how  no  man  is 
hindered  by  another;  that  everything  is  opinion. 

9.  In  the  application  of  thy  principle.-,  thoii 
must  be  like  the  pancratiast,  not  like  the  gladi- 
ator; for  the  gladiator  lets  fall  the  sword  which  he 
uses  and  is  killed;  but  the  other  always  has  his 
hand,  and  needs  to  do  nothing  else  than  use  it. 

10.  See    what    things    are    in    themselves, 
dividing  them  into  matter,  form,  and  purpose. 

ir.  What  a  power  man  has  to  do  nothing 
except  what  God  will  approve,  and  to  accept 
all  that  God  may  give  him. 

12.  With  respect  to  that  which  happens  con- 
formably to  nature,  we  ought  to  blame  neither 
gods,  for  they  do  nothing  wrong  either  volun- 
tarily or  involuntarily,   nor  men,  for  they  do 
nothing  wrong  except    involuntarily.      Conse- 
quently we  should  blame  nobody  (ii.  11,  12,  13; 
vii.  62;    iS  viii.   17  ). 

13.  How  ridiculous  and  what  a  stranger  he 
is  who  is  surprised  at  anything  which  happens 
in  life. 

14.  Kither  there  is  a  fatal  necessity  and   in- 
vincible order,  or  a  kind   providence,  or  a  con- 
fusion without  a  purpose  and  without  a  direc- 


294  ITbOUSbtS.  [Bank  XII. 

tor  (iv.  27).  If  then  there  is  an  invincible  ne- 
cessity, why  dost  thou  resist?  But  if  there  is 
a  providence  which  allows  itself  to  be  propiti- 
ated, make  thyself  worthy  of  the  help  of  the 
divinity.  But  if  there  is  a  confusion  without 
a  governor,  be  content  that  in  such  a  tempest 
thou  hast  in  thyself  a  certain  ruling  intelli- 
gence. And  even  if  the  tempest  carry  thee 
away,  let  it  carry  away  the  poor  flesh,  the  poor 
breath,  everything  else;  for  the  intelligence  at 
least  it  will  not  carry  away. 

15.  Does  the  light  of  the  lamp  .shine  without 
losing  its  splendor  until  it  is  extinguished  ?  and 
shall  the  truth  which  is  in  thee  and  justice  and 
temperance  be  extinguished  [before  thy  death]  ? 

1 6.  When  a  man  has  presented  the  appear- 
ance of  having  done  wrong  [say],  How  then 
do  I  know  if  this  is  a  wrongful  act?     And  even 
if  he  has  done  wrong,  how  do  I  know  that  he 
has  not  condemned  himself?     And  so  this  is 
like  tearing  his  own  face.     Consider  that  he 
who  would  not  have  the  bad  man  do  wrong,  is 
like  the  man  who  would  not  have  the  fig-tree 
to  bear  juice  in  the  figs,  and  infants  to  cry,  and 
the  horse  to  neigh,  and  whatever  else  must  of 
necessity  be.     For  what  must  a  man  do  who 
has  such  a  character?     If  then  thou  art  irri- 
table, 4-  cure  this  man's  disposition.* 

*The  interpreters  translate  }o/>}'0<;  by  the  words 
"  acer,  validusque,"  and  "skilful."  But  in  Kpictetus 
(ii.  16,  20;  iii.  12,  10)  ;"/>;<'<;  means  "vehement," 
"prone  to  auger,"  "irritable." 


Book  XII.]    /ijv.iraii?  Burcliii!?  antoninus. 


[7.  If  it  is  not  right,  do  not  do  it:  if  it  is  not 
true,  do  not  say  it.  [For  let  thy  effort^  be — ]:|: 

iS.  In  everything1  ahvays  observe  what  the 
thing  is  which  produces  for  thee  an  appcar- 
ance,  and  resolve  it  by  dividing  it  int<<  the 
formal,  the  material,  the  purpose,  and  the  time 
within  which  it  must  end. 

10.  Perceive  at  last  that  thou  hast  in  thee 
something  better  and  more  divine  than  the 
things  which  cause  the  various  affects,  and  as 
it  were  pull  thee  by  the  strings.  What  is 
there  now  in  my  mind, — is  it  fear,  or  suspicion, 
or  desire,  or  anything  of  the  kind  (v.  i  i  ;? 

20.  First,   do    nothing    inconsiderately,    nor 
without    a   purrose.     Second,    make    thy   acts 
refer  to  nothing  else  than  to  a  social  end. 

21.  Consider  that  before  long  thou  wilt  he 
nobody  and     nowhere,   nor    will    any    of     the 
things  exist  which  thou  now  seest,  nor  any  of 
those  who  are  now  living.      For  all   things  are 
formed  by  nature  to  change  and  be  turned  and 
to  perish,  in  order  that  other  things  in  contin- 
uous succession  may  exist  (ix.  28). 

22.  Consider  that  everything  is  opinion,  and 
opinion   is  in    thy  power.     Take    away   then, 
when    tkon   choosest.   thy  opinion,  and   like  a 
mariner  who    has    doubled     the    promontory, 
thou  wilt  find  calm,  everything  stable,  and  a 
waveless  bay. 

23.  Any  one  activity,  whatever   it   may  lie, 
when  it  has  ceased  at  its  proper   time,  suffers 

*  There  is  something  wrong  here,  or  incomplete. 


296  £bOU0btS.  [Book  XII. 

no  evil  because  it  has  ceased;  nor  he  who  has 
done  this  act,  does  he  suffer  any  evil  for  this 
reason,  that  the  act  has  ceased.  In  like  man- 
ner then  the  whole,  which  consists  of  all 
the  acts,  which  is  our  life,  if  it  cease  at  its 
proper  time,  suffers  no  evil  for  this  reason,  that 
it  has  ceased;  nor  he  who  has  terminated  this 
series  at  the  proper  time,  has  he  been  ill  dealt 
with.  But  the  proper  time  and  the  limit  na- 
ture fixes,  sometimes  as  in  old  age  the  peculiar 
nature  of  man,  but  always  the  universal  nature, 
by  the  change  of  whose  parts  the  whole  uni- 
verse continues  ever  young  and  perfect/'1  And 
everything  which  is  useful  to  the  universal  is 
always  good  and  in  season.  Therefore  the 
termination  of  life  for  every  man  is  no  evil,  be- 
cause neither  is  it  shameful,  since  it  is  both 
independent  of  the  will  and  not  opposed  to  the 
general  interest,  but  it  is  good,  since  it  is  sea- 
sonable, and  profitable  to  and  congruent  with 
the  universal.  For  thus  too  lie  is  moved  by 
the  Deity  who  is  moved  in  the  same  manner 
with  the  Deity,  and  moved  towards  the  same 
thing  in  his  mind. 

24.  These  three  principles  thou  must  have  in 
readiness:  In  the  things  which  thou  doest,  do 
nothing  either  inconsiderately  or  otherwise 
than  as  justice  herself  would  act;  but  witli  re- 
spect to  what  may  happen  to  thee  from  with- 
out, consider  that  it  happens  either  by  chance 
or  according  to  providence,  PVK".  thou  must 

*vii.  25. 


Book  XII.]    dfcarcus  Surclius  Bntoninus.          297 

neither  blame  chance  nor  accuse  providence. 
Second,  consider  what  every  being  is  from  the 
seed  to  the  time  of  its  receiving  a  soul,  and 
from  the  reception  of  a  soul  to  the  giving  back 
of  the  same,  and  of  what  things  every  being 
is  compounded,  and  into  what  tilings  it  is 
resolved.  Third,  if  thou  shouldst  suddenly 
be  raised  up  above  the  earth,  and  shouldst 
look  down  on  human  things,  and  observe 
the  variety  of  them  how  great  it  is,  and  at 
the  same  time  also  shouldst  see  at  a  glance 
how  great  is  the  number  of  beings  who  dwell 
all  around  in  the  air  and  the  ether,  consider 
that  as  often  as  thou  shouldst  be  raised  up, 
thou  wouldst  see  the  same  things,  sameness 
of  form  and  shortness  of  duration.  Are  these 
things  to  be  proud  of? 

25.  Cast     away     opinion:    thou     art    saved. 
Who  then  hinders  thee  from  casting  it  away  ? 

26.  When  thou  art  troubled  about  anything, 
thou  hast  forgotten  this,  that  all  things  happen 
according  to  the  universal  nature;  and  forgotten 
this,  that  a  man's  wrongful  act  is  nothing  to 
thee;  and  further  thou  hast  forgotten  this,  that 
everything  which  happens,   always  happened 
so  and  will  happen   so,  and   now   happens   so 
everywhere;  forgotten  this  too,  how  close  is  the 
kinship  between  a  man  and  the  whole  human 
race,  for  it  is  a  community,  not  of  a  little  blood 
or  seed,   but  of  intelligence.     And  thou  hast 
forgotten    this    too,    that  every    man's  intelli- 
gence is  a  god  and  is  an  efflux  of  the  Deity;* 

*  See  lipictetus,  ii,  8,  9,  cic. 


298  tTbOUQbtS.  [Book  XIL 

and  forgotten  this,  that  nothing  is  a  man's 
own,  but  that  his  child  and  his  body  and  his 
very  soul  came  from  the  Deity;  forgotten  this, 
that  everything  is  opinion;  and  lastly  thou 
hast  forgotten  that  ever}7  man  lives  the  present 
time  only,  and  loses  only  this. 

27.  Constantly    bring    to    thy    recollection 
those  who  have  complained  greatly  about  any- 
thing, those  who  have  been  most  conspicuous 
by  the  greatest  fame  or  misfortunes  or  enmities 
or  fortunes  of  any  kind:  then  think  where  are 
they  all  now  ?     Smoke  and  ash  and  a  tale,  or- 
not  even  a  tale.     And  let  there  be  present  to 
thy    mind   also  everything  of  this   sort,    how 
Fabius    Catellinus  lived   in  the   country,   and 
Lucius  Lupus  in  his  gardens,  and  Stertinius  at 
Briae,    and   Tiberius   at  Capreae,    and  Velius 
Rufus  [or  Rufus  at  Velia];  and  in  fine  think  of 
the  eager  pursuit  of  anything  conjoined  with 
pride;*  and  how  worthless  everything  is  after 
which    men   violently    strain;   and  how  much 
more  philosophical  it  is  for  a  man  in  the  op- 
portunities presented  to  him  to  show  himself 
just,   temperate,  obedient  to  the  gods,  and  to 
do  this  with  all  simplicity:  for  the  pride  which 
is  proud  of  its  want  of  pride  is  the  most  intol- 
erable of  all. 

28.  To  those  who  ask,  Where  hast  thou  seen 
the  gods,  or  how  dost  thou  comprehend  that 
they  exist  and  so  worchippest  them,  I  answer, 
in  the  first  place,  they  may  be  seen  even  with 

ir/crewf.     Oi?/ff(f  nal  rv(f>uf ,  Epict.  i.  8,  6. 


Book  XII.]    /foarcus  XUircltus  Hntonimis.  2<)o 

the  eyes;*  in  the  second  place,  neither  have  I 
seen  even  my  own  soul,  and  yet  I  honor  it. 
Thus  then  \vith  respect  to  the  gods,  from  what 
I  constantly  experience  of  their  power,  from 
this  I  comprehend  that  they  exist,  and  I  vene- 
rate them. 

29.  The  safety  of  life  is  this,  to  examine 
everything  all  through,  what  it  is  itself,  that  is 
its  material,  what  the  formal  part:  with  all  thy 
soul  to  do  justice  and  to  say  the  truth.  What 

"Seen  even  \\ith  the  eves."  It  is  suppose*!  that 
this  mav  he  explained  hy  UK;  Stoic  doctrine,  that,  the 
universe  is  a  god  or  living  being  (iv.  40),  and  that  the 
celestial  bodies  are  gods  (\iii.  ly).  IHit  the  emperor 
may  mean  that  we  know  that  the  gods  exist,  as  he 
afterwards  states  it,  because  \ve  see  what  they  do  ;  as 
we  know  that  man  has  intellectual  powers,  because  we 
see  what  he  does,  and  in  no  other  wav  do  we  know  it. 
This  passage  then  will  agree  with  the  passage  in  the 
Kpistle  to  the  Romans  i  i.  z1.  20  ,  an<t  with  the  Kpistle 
to  the  Colossians  (i.  r.  15),  in  which  Jesus  Christ  is 
named  "  tlu;  image  of  the  invisible  god;"  and  with 
the  passage  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  ixiv.  :'.  i)). 

Gataker,  whose  notes  are  a  wonderful  collection  of 
learning,  and  all  of  it  sound  and  good,  quotes  a  pas- 
sage of  Calvin  which  is  founded  on  St.  Paul's  language 
(Rom.  i.  :r.  20):  "God  by  creating  the  universe  [or 
world,  mundum],  being  himself  invisible,  has  pre- 
sented himself  to  our  eyes  conspicuously  in  a  certain 
visible  form."  lie  also  quotes  Seneca  (I)e  Belief,  iv. 
c.  81:  "  Ouocunque  te  ilexeris,  ibi  ilium  videbis  occur- 
reiitem  tibi  :  nihil  ab  illo  vacat,  opus  suum  ipse  im- 
plet."  Compare  also  Cicero,  De  Senectute  (c.  22), 
Xeuophon's  Cyropaedia  (viii.  71,  and  Mem.  iv.  3; 
also  Kpictetus,  i.  6,  de  1'rovidentia.  I  think  that  my 
interpretation  of  Antoninus  is  right. 


300  GbOUflbtS.  [Book  XII 

remains,  except  to  enjoy  life  by  joining  one 
good  thing  to  another  so  as  not  to  leave  even 
the  smallest  intervals  between  ? 

30.  There  is  one  light  of  the  sun,  though  it 
is  interrupted  by  walls,  mountains,  and  other 
things   infinite.     There    is   one   common   sub- 
stance,* though  it  is  distributed  among  count- 
less bodies  which  have  their  several  qualities. 
There   is   one   soul,   though    it    is   distributed 
among  infinite  natures  and  individual  circum- 
scriptions [or  individuals].     There  is  one  intel- 
ligent  soul,   though    it   seems    to  be  divided. 
Now  in  the  things  which  have  been  mentioned, 
all  the  other  parts,  such  as  those  which  are  air 
and  matter,  are  without  sensation  and  have  no 
fellowship:  and  yet  even  these  parts  the  intelli- 
gent principle  holds  together  and  the  gravita- 
tion towards  the  same.     But  intellect  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner  tends  to  that  which  is  of  the  same 
kin,  and  combines  with  it,  and  the  feeling  for 
communion  is  not  interrupted. 

31.  What  dost  thou  wish — to    continue    to 
exist?     Well,  dost  thou  wish  to  have  sensa- 
tion,   movement,    growth,   and    then  again  to 
cease    to   grow,  to  use  thy   speech,  to  think  ? 
What  is  there  of  all  these  things  which  seems 
to  thee  worth  desiring?     But  if  it  is  easy  to  set 
little  value  on  all  these  things,  turn   to   that 
which  remains,  which  is  to  follow  reason  and 
God.      But    it    is    inconsistent  witli   honoring 
reason  and  God  to  be  troubled  because  by  death 
a  man  will  be  deprived  of  the  other  things. 

*  iv.  40. 


Book  XII.]    /Ifcarcus  Burcliiis  Bntoninus.  301 

32.  Ho\v  small  a  part  of  the  boundless  and 
unfathomable  time  is  assigned   to   every  man, 
for  it  is  very  soon  swallowed  up  in  the  eternal! 
And  how  small  a  part  of  the  whole  substance-; 
and    how  small  a   part  of  the   universal   soul; 
and  on  what   a   small  clod  of  the  whole  earth 
thou  creepest!      Reflecting  on  all  this,  consider 
nothing  to  be  great,  except  to  act  as   thy  na- 
ture leads  thee,  and   to  endure  that  which  the 
common  nature  brings. 

33.  How  does   the   ruling   faculty  make   use 
of  itself?  for  all  lies  in   this.     But  everything 
else,  whether  it  is  in  die  power  ol  thy  will  or 
not,  is  only  lifeless  ashes  and  smoke. 

34.  This  reflection   is  most  adapted  to  move 
us  to  contempt  of  death,  that  even  those  who 
think  pleasure  to  be  a  good   and   pain  an  evil 
still  have  despised  it. 

35.  The   man    to    whom    that    only   is   good 
which  comes  in  due  >eason,  and  to  whom   it  is 
the  same  thing  whether  he  lias  done  more  or 
fewer  acts  conformable  to  right  reason,  and  to 
whom  it  makes  no  difference   whether  he  con- 
templates the  world   for    a   longer  or  a  shorter 
time — for  this  man  neither  is  death   a    terrible- 
thing  (iii.  7;   vi.  23;   x.  20;   xii.  23). 

36.  Man,    thou  hast   been   a  citizen   in    this 
great  state  [the  world]  ;*  what  difference  does 
it    make    to    thee    whether  for   five   years    [or 
three]  ?  for  that  which   is  conformable  to  the 
laws  is  just  for  all.      Where  is  the  hardship 

*ii.  if> ;  iii.  u  ;  iv.  29. 


302  Gbougbts.  [Book  XII 

then,  if  no  tyrant  nor  yet  an  unjust  judge  sends 
thee  away  from  the  state,  but  nature,  who 
brought  thee  into  it  ?  the  same  as  if  a  praetor 
who  has  employed  an  actor  dismisses  him  from 
the  stage. * — "  But  I  have  not  finished  the  five 
acts,  but  only  three  of  them." — Thou  sayest 
well,  but  in  life  the  three  acts  are  the  whole 
drama;  for  what  shall  be  a  complete  drama  is 
determined  by  him  who  was  once  the  cause  of 
its  composition,  and  now  of  its  dissolution  : 
but  thou  art  the  cause  of  neither.  Depart 
then  satisfied,  for  he  also  who  releases  thee  is 
satisfied. 

*iii.  8;  xi.  i. 


INDEXES 


INDEX  OF  TERMS. 


(indifferentia,     Cicero,     Seneca,     Epp.     82) ; 

things  indifferent,  neither  good  nor  bad  ;  the  same 

as  ftfcii. 

ala^por  (turpis,  Cic.),  ugly;  morally  ugly. 
atria,  cause. 
alr/ui^g.  airir,i\  n'>.  the  formal   or   formative   principle, 

the  cause. 

(iKnii'i'.irr/rnr.  unsocial. 

amyofxi,  reference,  relation  to  a  purpose, 
ajnwrefaf/ifrwf,  unconditionally, 
drrjp/wrt,  efflux. 
a-i>»<iii>r-i:.  -ii.  the  things  which  are  not  in  our  will  or 

power. 

ap\'i,  a  first  principle. 
arofjioi  (corpora  individua,  Cic.),  atoms. 
ai'-rdpKrtti  est  qnae  parvo  contenta  omne  id  respuit  quod 

abundat  (,Cic.)  ;  contentment. 
ai'T-d/)\;/c,  sufficient  iu  itself;  contented. 
atoppai,  means,  principles.     The  word  has  also  other 

significations  in  Hpictetus.     Index  e<l.  Schweig. 
ytyvouei'a,  rii,    things  which  are  produced,   come  into 

existence. 

od,  god  in  man,  man's  intelligent  principle, 
disposition,  affection  of  the  mind. 
fimipfair,  division  of  things  into  their  parts,  dissection, 

resolution,  analysis. 
6ia?.£KTini/,  ars  bene  digeerendi  et  vera  ac  falsa  dijudic- 

andi  (Cic.). 

$,  dissolution,  the  opposite  of  o\-/Kpictc. 

20  ( 305  ) 


306 


,  understanding  ;  sometimes,  the  mind  generally, 
the  whole  intellectual  power. 

66-y/uara  (decreta,  Cic.  ),  principles. 

(H'vaft/f  vospd,  intellectual  faculty. 

kyKp&TEia,  temperance,  self-restraint. 

tldoc  in  divisione  formae  sunt,  quas  Graeci  elfoi  vocant  ; 
nostri,  si  qui  haec  forte  tractaut,  species  appellant 
(Cic.  ).  But  «<Sof  is  used  by  Epictetus  and  Antoninus 
less  exactly  and  as  a  general  term,  like  genus. 
Index  Epict.  ed.  Schweig.  —  'i2f  Je  }-e  at  rcpurai  orciai 
7iy;of  TU  u'/.'Aa  EXOVGIV,  OVTU  KOI  ru  fZJof  rcplx;  TO  yrvo<;  i'XEl' 
v—oKtiTcii  -yap  TO  tldof  TW  yh'Ei.  (Aristot.  Cat.  c.  5.) 

e'lfiapfj-Evri  (fatalis  riecessitas,  fatum,  Cic.),  destiny, 
necessity. 

£K/c/,/<T«f,  aversions,  avoidance,  the  turning  away  from 
things  ;  the  opposite  of  bpi-^Eiq. 

ifjLTpvxa.,  TU,  things  which  have  life. 

hep-yEia,  action,  activity. 

Evvota,  Evvotai,  notio,  notiones  (Cic.),  or  "notitiae 
rerum  ;"  notions  of  things.  (Notionem  appello 
quam  Graeci  turn  t-vvmav,  turn  Trp6/.rjij}tv,  Cic.). 

evua/.r,  ?'/,  the  unity. 

ETfiaTpo^,  attention  to  an  object. 

evOv/ua,  animi  tranquillitas  (Cic.). 

EVftEvez,  T6t  ev/AtvEia,  benevolence  ;  Evpevfa  sometimes 
means  well-contented. 

elvoia,  benevolence. 

e^overia,  power,  faculty. 

iiraKohovQqatv,  Kara,  by  way  of  sequence. 

r/ye/wviKdv,  -6,  the  ruling  faculty  or  part  ;  prmcipatus 
(Cic.). 

QeuprjfMTa,  percepta  (Cic.),  things  perceived,  general 
principles. 

K.all?jK.E/,v,  TO,  duty,  "officium." 

«aA(5f,  beautiful. 

KaTa/j/ipic,  comprehension  ;  cognitio,  perceptio,  com- 
prehensio  (Cic.).  » 

constitution. 


tinker.  -o- 

KOTopfluaei^,  KnTfipflufmra  ;  recta,  recte  facta  (Cic.  i  ;  right 
acts,  those  acts  to  which  we  proceed  by  the  right  or 
straight  road. 

MMTwof,  order,  world,  universe. 

K/HTUOC,  >>  li'/iir,  the  universe,  that  which  is  the  One  and 
the  all  tvi.  25). 

Kpipu,  a  judgment. 

nrpiriw,  TO  li'rfov,  that  which   rules   within  (iv. 
same  as  TO  >jyriiwtK<n>.     Diogenes  I,aertius  vii., 
i]yffnn:tK.iir  (V  t'trat  ro  m'ptureiTov  T?~/C  i/'J'^v/f. 

/.oyiKa,  7(i,  the  things  which  have  reason. 

/MyiKOr,  rational. 

"fjbyaq,  reason. 

/-6yor  mrep/iartKog,  seminal  principle. 

f*taa,  TCI,  things  indifferent,  viewed  with  respect  to 
virtue. 

vi)r/><><;,  intellectual. 

vofioc;,  law. 

voi'C,  intelligence,  understanding. 

olria/c}  arrogance,  ])ride.  It  sometimes  means  in  An- 
toninus the  same  as  Troo<;  ;  but  it  also  means  "  opin- 
ion." 

niKoriiuia  i dispositio,  ordo,  Cic.)  has  sometimes  the 
peculiar  sense  of  artifice,  or  doing  something  with 
an  apparent  purpose  different  from  the  real  purpose. 

<*/ni',  TII,  the  universe,  the  whole  :  //  rwli'/uv  ormr. 

fii'Tii,  TI'I,  things  which  exist ;  existence,  being. 

6,off;e,  desire  of  a  thing,  which  is  opposed  to  JM//<T<C, 
aversion. 

<Y',"7A  movement  towards  an  object,  appetite  ;  appetitio, 
naturalis  appetitus,  appetitus  animi  iCic.). 

oi-aia,  substance  (vi.  49).  Modern  writers  sometimes 
incorrectly  translate  it  "  essentia."  It  is  often  used 
by  Kpicteuis  in  the  same  sense  as  i-/>/.  Aristotle 
(Cat.  c.  51  defines  inniu,  and  it  is  properly  translated 
"  substantia  "  (ed.Jul.  1'acius).  Porphyrius  (Isag. 
c.  2)  :  '/  oi'fiia  IIVUTUTU  ovaa  TI!>  n>]fiev  ~pb  avTf/f  yivac;  ijv 


308  UnDej. 


6vva/M^,  ?},  the  power  which  enables  us 
to  observe  and  understand. 

Efoif,  passivity,  opposed  to  tvepyeia  :  also,  affect. 
EpidTdaEif,  circumstances,  the  things  which  surround 
us  ;  troubles,  difficulties. 
Eirpufj.EV7/,  ;/,  destiny. 

purpose,  free  will  (Aristot.  Rhet.  i.  13). 
TTpoaipErd,  ~dt  things  which  are  within  our  will  or  power. 
Trpoatf)£-LK6v,  TO,  free  will. 
T?p66t:ati;,  a  purpose,  proposition. 
Kpdvoui  (providentia,  Cic.  ),  providence. 
CKo/rof,  object,  purpose. 
v,  element. 

saig  (assensio,  approbatio,  Cic.),  assent;  cvyKarn- 
(probationes,  Gellius,  xix.  i). 
-a,  things  compounded  (ii.  3). 

yKpiaiz,  the  act  of  combining  elements  out  of  which 
a  body  is  produced,  combination. 

c;,  ordering,  arrangement  (compositio). 
cvaTrifia,  system,  a  thing  compounded  of  parts  which 

have  a  certain  relation  to  one  another. 
v%t},  matter,  material. 
vTiiKov,  ~6,  the  material  principle. 
viret;a/p£ai(;,    exception,    reservation  ,    pttf  i'-f^aipKOEU^, 

conditionally. 

vTrdlkaif,  material  to  work  on  ;  thing  to  employ  the 
reason  on  ;  proposition,  thing  assumed  as  matter  for 
argument  and  to  lead  to  conclusions.  (Quaestionum 
duo  sunt  genera;  alterum  infinitum,  definitum 
alterum.  Definitum  est,  quod  v-odeatv  Graeci,  nos 
causa  tn  :  infinitum,  quod  Ufair  illi  appellant.,  nos 
propositum  possumus  nominare.  Cic.  See  Aristot. 
Anal.  Post.  i.  c.  2). 
inoKEi/tEi>a,  -d,  things  present  or  existing,  vi.  4  ;  or 

things  which  are  a  basis  or  foundation. 
tJ7r<5/.?/i/«f,  opinion. 

i>7rooT«tT/r,  basis,  substance,  being,  foundation  (x.  *"). 
Epictetus  has  ro  v-oarariKw  nal  oiiaiuthf.  (Justin'  v 
ad  Diogn.  c.  2.) 


309 


Oa/  ,  to  subsist,  to  be. 
Qavraaiai  (visus,  Cic.)  ;  appearances,  thoughts,  impres- 

sions   (visa    aninii,    Gellius,    xix.     i):    ^(ivrnnnL    inrl 

ri-TTiJctr  1  1-  if'r^ij. 
ifxii'Tdnua,  SITHIS  to  be  useil  by  Antoninus  in  the  same 

sense  as  <;>nv-<iai<i.     Rpictetus  uses  only  oai'-nniti. 
Odi'ninrur,  that  which  produces  a  onrruain  :  oavrticriiv  r6 

Tt'~C!/7/K(>£   77/1'   0<lV~llC!lllV  Ut(jOlfT6v. 

<?i'fi«j,  nature. 

oia/r  ij  n'.ir  <'<><.))•,  the  nature  of  the  universe. 

*t>v.\'/,  soul,  life,  living  principle. 

'/,  rtiE/x'i,  a  ratioual  soul,  an  intelligent  scul 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


***  The  paragraphs  ipur.  i  and  lines  (1.)  arc  those  of  the  sections. 


Active.  111:111  is  by  nuUuv,  ix.    16. 

Advice  from  the  good  to  he  taken,  vii.  21;   viii.   16. 

Xffect.'.tion,   vii.  bo;   viii.  30;   xi.    iS  (par.  9),  19. 

Anger  discouraged,  vi.  26,  27;   xi.   iS. 

Anger,  offenses  of,  ii.    10. 

Answer,  uselessness  ot,  v.  28;  viii.  4. 

Appearances  not  to  he  regarded,  v.  36;   vi.  3,  13. 

Astoni>hi>ieiit  should  not  he  ielt  at  anything  that  hap- 
pens, viii.  15;  \ii.  i  snh  fine',  13. 

Attainment,  \vliat  is  within  every  one's,  vii.  67;  viii.  8. 

Attention  to  what  is  said  or  done,  vi.  53;  vii.  4,  30; 
viii.  22. 

J?ad,  the.  ii.   I. 
Beautiful,  the.  ii.   i. 

Casual.     .S<v  Formal. 

Change  keeps  the  world  ever  new,  vii.  25;  viii,  50  (1. 

13  ;  xii.  23  (1.  10). 
Change,  law  of,  iv.  3   (suh   f. ),    36,    v.  13,  23;   vi.  4,  15, 

36;  vii.    iS;  viii.  6;  ix.    19,   2S  (par.  2),  35;  x.  7,  18; 

xii.  21. 

Change,  no  evil  in,  iv.  42. 
Christians,  the  xi.  3. 
Circle,  things  come  round  in  a,  ii.  14. 
Comedy,  new,  xi.  6. 

(311) 


General 


Corned}-,  Old,  xi.  6. 

Complaining,  uselessness  of,  viii.  17,  50. 

Connection.     See  Universe. 

Conquerers  are  robbers,  x.  10. 

Contentment.     Sec  Resignation. 

Co-operation.     See  Mankind  and  Universe. 

Daemon,  the,  ii.  13,  17;  iii.  6  (1.  8),  7,  16  (1.  18);  v.  10 

(sub  f. )  27;  xii.  _•;  (sub.  f. ). 
Death,  ii.  u,  12,  17;  iii.  3,  7;  iv.  5;  v.  33;  vi.  2,  24,  28; 

vii.  32;  viii.  20,  58;  ix.  3,  21;  x.  36;  xii.  23,  34,  35. 
Death  inevitable,  iii.  3;  iv.  3  [1.    22),   6,   32,  48,  50;  v. 

33;  vi.  47;  viii.  25,  31. 
Desire,  offenses  of,  ii.  10. 
Destiny,    iii.    ii    (1.   19);   iv.    26;  v.  8   (1.  13,   etc.),  24; 

vii.  57;  x.  5. 

Discontent.     See  Resignation. 

Doubts   discussed,  vi.  10;  vii.  75;  ix.  28,  39;  xii.  5,  14. 
Duty,  all-importance  of,  vi.  2,  22;  x.  22. 

Earth,   insignificance  of  the,  iii.  10;  iv.  3  (par.  i,  sub 

f.);  vi.  36;  viii.  21;  xii.  32. 
Earthly  things,  transitory  nature  of,  ii.  12,  17;  iv.  32, 

33,  35,  43;' v.   23;  vi.   15,  36;  vii.  21,  34;  viii.  21,  25; 

x.  18,  31;  xii.  27, 
Earthly  things,  \vorthlessness  of,  ii.  12;  v.  10,  33;  vi. 

15;  vii.  3;  ix.  24,  36;  xi.  2;  xii.  27. 
Equanimity,  x.  8. 

Example,  \ve  should  not  follow  bad,  vi.  6;  vii.  65. 
Existence,  meanness  of,  viii.  24. 
Existence,  the  object  of,  v.  i;  viii.  19. 
External  things  cannot  really  harm  a  man,  or  affect 

the  soul,  ii,  ii  (1.  22);  iv.  3  (par.  2,  sub  f);  8,  39,  49 

(par.   2);  v.  35;  vii.   64;  viii.  i   (sub  f.);  32,  51  (par. 

21;  ix.  31;  x.  33. 

Failure,  x.  12. 

Fame,  \vorthlessness  of,  iii.   10;  iv.  3  (1.  45),  19,  33  (1. 
10);  v.  33;  vi.  16,  18;  vii.  34;  viii.  i,  44;  ix.  30. 


©cncral  tnbcz.  313 


Fear,  what  we  ought  to,  xii.  i  (1.  iS). 

Fellowship.     .SVr  Mankind. 

Few  things  necessary  for  a  virtuous  and  happy  life, 

ii.  5;  iii.  10 ;  vii.  67;  x.  8  (1.  22). 
Flattery,  xi.  18  (par.  lo). 
Formal,   the,   and  the  material,  iv.  21  (par.  2);  v.  13; 

vii.  lo,  29:  viii.  n;  ix.  25;  xii.  S,  io,  18. 
Future,  we  should  not   be  anxious  about  the,  vii,  8; 

viii.  1 1;  ix.  25;  xii.  i. 

Gods,  perfect  justice  of  the,  xii.  5  (par.  2). 
Gods,  the,  vi.  44;  xii.  28. 
Gods,  the,  cannot  be  evil,  ii.  u;  vi.  44. 
Good,  the,  ii.  i. 

Habit  of  thought,  v.  16. 

Happiness,  what  is  true,  v.  9   (sub  f.),  34;  viii,  i;  x, 

33- 

Help  to  be  accepted  from  others,  xii.  7. 
Heroism,  true,  xi.  18  (par.  io). 

Ignorance.     Stv  Wrong-doing. 

Independence.     .Sir  Self-reliance. 

Indifferent  things,  ii.  n  (sub   f.1;  ix.  39;  vi.  32;  ix.  i; 

(1-  30). 

Individual,  the.     S<v  Interests. 
Infinity.     .SVt'Time. 
Ingratitude.     .Stv  Mankind. 
Injustice,   ix.  T. 
Intelligent    soul,    rational    beings    participate    in   the 

same,  iv.  40;  ix.  8,  9;  x.  i  (1.  15);  xii.  26,  30. 
Interests  of  the  whole  and  the  individual  identical,  iv, 

23;  v.  8  (1.  34);  vi.  45,  54;  x.   6,   20,  33  ^sub  f.);  xii. 

23  (1.  12). 

Justice,  v.  34;  x.  ii;  xi.  io. 

Justice  and  reason  identical,  xi.  i  (sub  f. )„ 

Justice  prevails  everywhere,  iv.  io. 


314 


General 


Leisure,  we  ought  to  have  some,  viii.  51. 

Life,  a  good,  everywhere  possible,  v.  16. 

Life  can  only  be  lived  once,  ii.  14;  x.  31  (1.  n). 

Life,  shortness  of,  ii.  4,  17;  iii.  10,  14;  iv.    17,  48  (sub 

f.),  50;  vi.  15,36,  56;  x.  31,  34. 
Life  to  be  made  a  proper  use  of,  without  delay,  ii.  4; 

iii.    i,   14;  iv.   17,   37;  vii.    56;  viii.  22;  x.  31  (1.  14); 

xli  i  (1.  18). 

fe,  whether  long  or  short,  matters  not,  vi.  49;  ix.  33; 

xii.  36. 

Magnanimity,  x.  8. 

Mankind,  co-operation  and  fellowship  of,  one  with 
another;  ii.  i  (1.  n),  16;  iii.  4  (sub  f.);  II  (sub  f.): 
iv-  4>  33  (SU1>  f-);  v-  16  (1.  ii),  20;  vi.  7,  14  (sub  f.), 
23.  39;  vii.  5,  13.  22,  55;  viii.  12,  26,  34,  43,  59;  ix.  I, 
9  (sub  f.j,  23,  31,  42  (sub.  f. );  x.  36,  (1.  16);  xi.  8,  21; 
xii.  20. 

Mankind,  folly  and  baseness  of,  v.  IO  (L  9);  ii.  2,  3 
(1.  13),  29;  x.  15,  19. 

Mankind,  ingratitude  of,  x.  36. 

Material,  the.     See  Formal. 

Nature,  after  products  of,  iii.  2;  vi.  36. 

Nature,  bounds  fixed  by,  v.  I. 

Nature,  man  formed  by,  to  bear  all  that  happens  to 

him,  v.  18;  viii.  46. 
Nature,  nothing  evil,  which  is  according  to,  ii.  17  (sub 

f.);  vi.  33. 

Nature  of  the  universe.  See  Universe,  nothing  that 
happens  is  contrary  to  the  nature  of  the. 

Nature,  perfect  beauty  of,  iii.  2;  vi.  36. 

Nature,  we  should  live  according  to,  iv.  48  (sub.  f.),5i; 
v.  3,  25;  vi.  16  (1.  12);  vii.  15,  55;  viii.  I,  54;  x.  33. 

New,  nothing,  under  the  sun,  ii.  14  (1.  Ii);  iv.  44;  vi. 
37,  46;  vii.  i,  49;  viii.  6;  ix.  14;  x.  27;  xi.  I. 

Object,  we  should  always  act  with  a  view  to  some,  ii. 
7,  16  (1.  12);  iii.  4;  iv.  2;  viii.  17;  x.  37;  xL  21 ; 
xii.  20. 


General 


315 


Obsolete,  all  things  become,  iv.  33. 

Omissions,  sins  of,  i.\.  5. 

Opinion,  iv.  3  i  par.    2)  'sub    f.  ),  7,    12,    39;  vi.   52,  57; 

vii.  2,  14,  16,  26,  6S  ;  viii.    14,   29,  40,  47,  49;  ix.  13, 

29  :1.  121,32,  42  (1.  21);  x.  3;  xi.  1  6,  18;  xii.  22,  25. 
Others'  conduct  not  to  be  inquired  into,  iii.  4;  iv.  18; 

v.  25. 
Others,  opinion  of,  to  be  disregarded,  viii.  i  (1.  121;  x. 

8  (1.   12),  1  1  ;   xi.  13  ;   xii.  4. 
Others,  \ve  shonM  be  lenient  towards,  ii.  13  (sub  f.); 

iii.  1  1  (sub  f.)  ;  iv.  3  '  1.  16)  ;  v.  33  (1.  17)  ;  vi.  20,  27  ; 

vii.  26,  62,    63,    70;  ix.    n,    27;  x.    4;  xi.   9,  13,    18; 

xii.    1  6. 
Others.  we  should  examine  the  ruling  principles  of. 

iv.  38  ;  ix.  iS,  22,  27,  34. 
Ourselves  often    to   blame   for  expecting  men  to  act 

contrary  to  their  nature,  ix.  42  (1.  31). 
Ourselves,  reformation  should  begin  with,  xi.  29 
Ourselves,  we  should  judge,  x.  30  ;  xi.  18  (par.  4). 

Pain,  vii.  33,  64  ;  viii.  28. 

Perfection   not  to  be  expected  in   this  world,  ix.  29 

1  1.  7). 

Perseverance,  v.  9;  x.  12. 
Persuasion,  to  be  used,  vi.  50. 
Perturbation,  vi.  16    sub  f  .  )  ;  viii.  58;  ix.  31. 
Pessimism,  ix.   ^5. 

Philosophy,  v.  9;  vi.   12;  ix.  41  (1.  151. 
Pleasure,  he  who  pursues,  is  guilty  of  irnpietv,  ix.  I 

(1.  241. 

Pleasures  are  enjoyed  by  the  bad,  vi.  34  ;  ix.  i  (1.  30). 
Power   things  in  our  own,  v.  5,  10  (sub  f.  i  ;  vi.  32.  41, 

52,  58  :  vii.  2,  14,  54.  6s  ;  x.  32,  33. 
Power,  things  not  in  our  own,  v.  33    sub  f.  )  ;  vi.  41. 
Practice  is  good,  even  in  things  which  we  despair  of 

accomplishing,  xii.  6. 
Praise,  worthlessness  of,  iii.  4  (sub  f);  iv.  2O'  vi.  16^ 

59;  vii.  62;  viii.  52,  53.   ix.  34. 
Prayer,  the  right  sort  of,  v.  7  ;  ix.  40. 


316  General 


Present  time  the  only  thing  a  man  really  possesses,  iL 

14;  iii.  10;  viii.  44;  xii.  3  (sub  f. ;. 
Procrastination.     See  Life  to  be  made  a  proper  use  of, 

etc. 
Puppet  pulled  by  strings  of  desire,  ii.  a  ;  iii.  16 ;  vL 

16,  28 ;  vii.  3,  29  •  xii.  19. 

Rational  soul.     Sec  Ruling  part. 

Rational  soul,  spherical  form  of  the,  viii.  41  (sub  f.); 
xi.  12  ;  xii.  3  i  and  see  Ruling  part). 

Reason,  all-prevailing,  v.  32;  vi.  i,  40. 

Reason  and  nature  identical,  vii.  n. 

Reason  the,  can  adapt  everything  that  happens  to  its 
own  use,  v.  20 ;  vi.  8  ;  vii.  68  (1.  16)  ;  viii.  35  ;  x.  31 
(sub  f.). 

Reason,  we  should  live  according  to.     See  Nature. 

Repentance  does  not  follow  renouncement  of  pleas- 
ure, viii.  10. 

Resignation  and  contentment,  iii.  4  (1.  27,  etc.),  16  (1. 
10,  etc.)  ;  iv.  23,  31,  33  (sub  f.),  34  ;  v.  8  (sub  f.),  33 
(1.  1 6);  vi.  1 6  (sub  f.),  44,  49  ;  vii.  27,  57  ;  ix.  37  j  x. 
i,  ii,  14,  25,  28,  35. 

Revenge,  best  kind  of,  vi.  6. 

Rising  from  bed,  v.  i;  viii.  II. 

Ruling  part,  the,  ii.  2;  iv.  ii,  19,  21,  26;  vi.  14,  35; 
vii.  16,  55  (par.  2);  viii.  45,  48,  56,  57,  60,  6r  ix.  15, 
26;  x.  24,  33  (1.  21),  38;  xi.  i,  19,  20;  xii.  3,  14. 

Self-reliance  and  steadfastness  of  soul,  iii.  5  (sub  f.), 

12  ;  iv.   14,   29  (1.  5),  49  (par.   i)  ;  v.  3,  34  (1.  5);  vi. 

44  (I.  15);  vii.  12,  15;  ix.  28  (1.  8),  29  (sub  f.);  xii.  14, 
Self-restraint,  v.  33  (sub  f. ). 
Self,  we  should   retire  into,  iv.  3  (1.  4  and  par.   2)  ; 

vii.  28,  33,  59  ;  viii.  48. 
Senses,  movements  of  the,  to  be  disregarded,  v.  31  (1. 

10)  ;  vii.   55  (par.   2)  ;  viii.   26,  30 ;  x.  8  (1.  13)  ;  xi. 

19;  xii.  i  (1.  18). 
Sickness,  behavior  in,  ix.  41. 
Social.     See  Mankind. 


General  "linger.  317 


U.i  \  V-l  "JV.,       lilLI  il.llll.X~      \_W11  11  V.WLHJ1A      CV11 V  I      VV^-V^|/^iClLlV'lA      W*        U.4.& 

things  in  the,  one  \vith  another,   ii.  3,  9  ;  iv.  29  ;  V. 
8   30:  vi.  38,  42,  43  ;  vii.  9,  19,  68  (sub  f.)  ;  viii.  7; 


Steadfastness  of  soul.     .V<r  Self-reliance. 

Substance,  the  universal,   iv.  40;  v.    24;  vii.    19,    23; 

xii.  30. 
Suicide,  v.  29  ;  viii.  47  (sub  f.)  ;  x.  8  (1.  351. 

Time  compared  to  a  river,  iv.  43. 

Time,  infinity  of,  iv.  3  (1.   35),  50  (sub  f.) ;  v.  24 ;  ix. 

32  ;  xii.  7,  32. 
Tragedy,  xi.  6. 
Tranquillity  of  soul,  iv.  3;  vi.  11  ;  vii.  68;  viii.  28. 

Ugly,  the,  ii.  i. 

Unintelligible  things,  v.  10. 

Universe,  harmony  of  the,   iv.  27,  45  •  v.  8  (1.  14). 

Universe,  intimate  connection  and  co-operation  of  all 

thim 

8 

ix.  I  ;  x.  I. 
Universe,  nothing  that  dies  falls  out  of  the,  viii,  18, 

50  (1.  13)  :  x.  7  (1.  25). 
Universe,   nothing   that   happens   is  contrary  to  the 

nature  of  the,  v.   8,    10  (sub  f.)  ;  vi.  9,  58;  viii.  5; 

xii.  26. 

Unnecessary  things,  v.  45. 
Unnecessary  thoughts,  words,  and  actions,  iii,  4  ;  iv, 

24. 

Vain  professions,  x.  16  ;  xi.  15. 

Virtue,  vi.  17. 

Virtue   its  own  reward,  v.   6 ;  vii.   73 ;  ix.  42  (L  47) ; 

xi.  4. 

Virtue,  omnipotence  of,  iv.  16. 
Virtue,  pleasure  in  contemplating,  vi.  48. 

Whole,  integrity  of  the,  to  be  preserved,  v.  S  (sub  f.). 
Whole,  the.     St'C  Interests. 
Wickedness  has  always  existed,  rii.  I. 
Wickedness  must  exist  in   the  world,  viii.  15,  50;  ix. 
42  ;  xi.  18  (par.  iij  ;  xii.  16. 


3i 8  General 


Worst  evil,  the,  ix.  2  (1.  9.") 

Worth  and  importance,  things  of  real,  iv.  33  (sub  f.1 ; 

v.  10  (1.  16) ;  vi.  16,  30  (1.  7),  47  (sub  f.) ;  vii.  20,  44, 

46,  58,  66;  viii.  2,  3,  5;  ix.  6,  12;  x.  8  (1.  27),  n;  xii, 

i,  27,  31,  33. 
Wrong-doing    cannot  really  harm  any  one,  vii.  22; 

viii.  55;  ix.  42  (1.  25);  x.  13  (par.  i);_  xi.  18  (par.  7). 
Wrong-doing  injures  the  wrong-doer,  iv.  26;  ix.  4>  3^' 

xi.  18  (par.  31. 
Wrong-doing  owing  to  ignorance,   ii;<  I,   13;  vi.  27, 

vii.  22,  26,  62,  63  ;  xi.  18  (par.  3);  xii.  22.  _ 
Wroag-doing  to  be  left  where  it  is,  vii.  29 ;  ix.  20. 


,, 
W 


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and  force  for  which  Hawthorne  is  coneplcuously 
noted. 


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1  KEPT  FOR  TIIE  MASTER'S  USE,  by  Frances  Rid- 

ley  Havergal.     "Will   perpetuate  her  name." 

2  MY      KIN(}      AND      HIS      SERVICE.      OR      DAILY 

THOUGHTS  EOR  THE  KING'S  CHILDREN, 
by  Frances  Ridley  ITavorjral.  "Simple,  tender, 
gentle,  and  full  of  Christian  love." 

3  MY    POINT    OF    VIEW.     Selections   from    the    works 

of   Professor   Henry    Drummond. 

4  OF    THE      IMITATION      OF    CHRIST,     by    Thomas 

A'Kempis.  "With  the  exception  of  the  Bible  It  Is 
probably  the  book  most  read  in  Christian  litera- 
ture." 

5  ADDRESSES,   by  Professor  Henry  Drummond.     "In- 

telligent sympathy   with  the  Christian's  need." 


HENRY   ALT-EMUS'   PUBLICATIONS. 


Altftinus'  Devotional  Series — Continued. 
Price,  50  cents  each. 


8  NATURAL  LAW  IN  THE  SPIRITUAL  WORLD,  by 
Professor  Henry  Drnmuieud.  "A  most  notable 
b»ok  which  has  earned  for  tbe  author  a  world- 
wide reputation." 

7  ADDRESSES,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Philips  Brooks.     "Has 

exerted  a  marked  influence  over  the  rising  gener- 
ation." 

8  ABIDE  IN  CHRIST.    Thoughts  on  the  Blessed   Life 

of  Fellowship  with  the  Son  of  God.  By  the  Rev. 
Andrew  Murray.  "It  cannot  fail  to  stimulate  and 
Cheer."— Spurgi  on. 

9  LIKE    CHRIST.     Thoughts    on    the    Blessed    Life    of 

Conformity  to  the  Sou  of  God.  By  the  Rev.  An- 
drew Murray.  A  sequel  to  "Abide  in  Christ." 
"May  be  read  with  comfort  and  edification  by 
all." 

19  WITH  CHRIST  IN  THK  SCHOOL  OF  PRAYER, 
by  the  Rer.  Andrew  Murray.  "The  beat  work  on 
prayer  IB  the  language." 

11  HOLY  IN  CHRIST.  Thoughts  on  the  calling  of  God'a 

Children  to  be  Holy  as  He  is  Holy.  By  the  Rev. 
Andrew  Murray.  "This  sacred  theme  is  treated 
Scripturally  asd  robustly  without  spurious  sentl- 
mentallsm." 

12  THH  MANLINESS  OF  CHRIST,  by  Thomas  Hughes, 

author  of  "Tom  Brown's  School  Days,"  etc.  "Evi- 
dences of  the  sublimest  courage  arid  manliness  In 
the  boyhood,  ministry,  and  in  the  last  acts  of 
Christ's  life." 

13  ADDRESSES  TO  YOUNG  MEN,  by  the  R«T.  Henry 

Ward  Beecher.  Seven  addressee  om  common  vices 
and  their  results. 

14  THK    PATHWAY    OF    SAFETY,    by    the    Rt.    Rev. 

Ashton  Oxenden,  D.  D.  Some  words  of  advice 
and  encouragement  on  the  text  "What  Must  I 
do  to  be  Saved." 

IB  THK  CHRISTIAN  LIFE,  by  the  Rt.  Rer.  Ashton 
Oxenden,  D.  D.  A  beautiful  delineation  of  an 
ideal  life  from  the  conversion  to  the  flaal  reward. 

1C  THH  THRONR  OF  GRACE.  Before  which  the  bur- 
dened soul  may  cast  itself  on  the  bosom  of  In- 
finite lore  and  enjoy  In  prayer  "a  peace  which 
passeth  all  understanding." 


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Altonius'  Devotional  Senas — Continued. 
Price,  50  cents  each. 

V    THE    PATHWAY    OF    PROMISTC,    by   th«   author  «f 

"The  Throne  of  Graee."  Thoughts  consolatory 
and  encouraging  to  the  Cliristlan  pilgrim  as  h« 
journeya  oliwurd  to  his  henveiily  home. 

IS  Till:  IMPREGNABLE  ROCK  OF  HOLY  SCRIP- 
TITHE,  by  the  lit.  Hon.  William  Kwart  Gladstone, 
il.  1'.  The  most  masterly  defence  of  the  truths 
of  tho  Bllile  extant.  The  author  says:  The  Chris- 
tian Faith  and  the  Holy  Scriptures  arm  us  with 
the  means  of  neutralizing  the  assault.*  of  erll  in 
and  from  ourselves. 

1»    STHPS  IXTO  TOE  BLESSED  LIFE,  by  the  Rev.  F. 

15.  Meyer,  B.  A.  A.  powerful  help  towards  s-anc- 
tltteatlon. 

28  THE  MESSAGE  OF  PEACE,  by  the  Rev.  Richard 
W.  Church,  D.  D.  Eight  excellent  sermons  on 
the  advent  of  the  Bube  of  Bethlehem  and  his  In- 
flutnce  and  effect  on  the  world. 

21  JOHN  PLOUGHMAN'S  TALK,  by  the  Eev.  CharlM 

II.   Spurgeon. 

22  JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S    PICTURES,    by    the    ReT. 

Charles    II.    Spurgeon. 

28  THE  CHANGED  CROSS;  AND  OTHER  RELIG- 
IOUS POBMS. 

24  GOLD  DUST.  A  collection  of  Golden  Counsels  for 
the  Sanctllication  of  Dally  Life.  Edited  by  Char- 
lotte M.  Yonge. 

26  DAILY    FOOD    FOR   CHRISTIANS.      Being  a   Prom- 

ise and  another  Scriptural  portion  for  every  day 
In  the  year;  together  with  the  Verse  of  a  Hymn. 

2«  PEEP  OF  DAY.  Or  a  Series  of  ttie  Earliest  Rellf- 
ious  Instruction  the  Infant  Mind  li  Capable  of 
Receiving. 

27  LINE  UPON  LINE.    Or  a  second  Series  of  the  Ear- 

liest Religious  Instruction  the  Infant  Mind  is  Ca- 
pable of  Receiving. 

28  PRECEPT     UPON     PRECEPT.     By    the    anth«r    •( 

"The  Peep  of  Day,"  "Line  Upon  Line,"  "Pre- 
cept Upon  Precept,"  etc. 

29  THE  PRINCE  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  DAVID,  by  tk* 

Rev.   J.   H.  Ingraham. 

30  JESSICA'S      FIRST      PRAYER      AND      JBSSIOA'i 

MOTHER,  by  liesba  Stretton. 


HENRY   ALTEMUS'    PUBLICATIONS. 


ALTEMUS'    NEW  ILLUSTRATED   VADEMECUM 

SERIES. 


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Volume  Size.  Large  Type  Editions.     Each  Volume 

Contains  Illuminated  Title  Pages,  and  Portrait 

of  Author  and  Numerous  Engravings. 


Fall  cloth,  ivory  finish,  ornamental  inlaid  sides  and  back, 
boxed,  40  cents. 

1  CRANFORD,  by  Mrs.  Gaskell. 

2  A  WINDOW  IN  THRUMS,  by  J.  M.   Barrle. 

8  RAB  AND  HIS  FRIENDS.  MARJORIE  FLEMING, 
ETC.,  by  John  Brown,  M.  D. 

4  THE    VICAR    OF    WAKEFIELD,    by    Ollrer    Gold- 

smith. 

5  THE   IDLE   THOUGHTS   OF   AN   IDLE    FELLOW, 

by  Jerome  K.  Jerome.     "A  book  for  an   idle   boll- 
day." 

0  TALES  FROM  SHAKSPEARE,  by  Charles  and  Mary 
Lamb,  with  an  introduction  by  the  Rev.  Alfred 
Alnger,  M.  D. 

7  SESAME  AND   LILIES,   by   John   Ruskln. 

Three   Lectures— I.  Of   the    King's   Treasures.    II. 
Of  Queen'»  Garden.    III.  Of  the  Mystery  of  Life. 

8  THE    ETHICS    OF    THE    DUST,    by    John    Ruskln. 

Ten  lectures  to  little  housewives  on  the  elements 
of  crystalizatlon. 

»  THE  PLEASURES  OF  LIFE,  by  Sir  John  Lubbock. 
Complete  in  one  volume. 

16    THE  SCARLET  LETTER,  by  Nathairiel  Hawthorne. 

11  THE    HOUSE    OF    THE    SEVEN    GABLES,    by    Na- 

thaniel Hawthorne. 

12  MOSSES    FROM    AN    OLD    MANSE,    by    Nathaniel 

Hawthorme. 

13  TWICE  TOLD  TALES,  by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne. 

14  THE  ESSAYS  OF  FRANCIS  (LORD)  BACON  WITH 

MEMOIRS  AND   NOTES. 

15  ESSAYS,  First  Scries,  by  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 
1«    ESSAYS,  Second  Series,  by  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 


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AJtemus'  New  Illustrated  Vademeeum  Series — Continued. 
Price,  40  cents  each. 


17  REPRESENTATIVE    MEN,    by    Ralph    Waldo    Emer- 

son. Mcnlttl  portraits  each  representing  a  class. 
1.  The  Philosopher.  2.  Tln>  Myntlc.  3.  The  Skep- 
tic. 4.  The  Poet.  5.  The  Mail  of  the  World.  6. 
The  Writer. 

18  THOUGHTS  OF  THE  EMPEROR  MARGUS  AURB- 

LIUS    ANTONINUS,    translated   by   George    Loaf. 

19  THE    DISCOURSES    OK    EPICTETUH    WITH    THE 

ENCHIRIDION,  translated  by  George  Long. 

20  OF    THE     IMITATION     OF     CHRIST,    by    Thoma« 

A'Keinpis.     Four  books  complete  lu  one  volume. 

21  ADDRESSES,   by  Professor  Henry   Drummond.    The 

Greatest  Thing  in  the  "World;  Pax  Voblscum;  The 
("hanged  Life;  How  to  Learn  How;  Dealing  With 
Doubt;  Preparation  for  Learning;  What  la  a 
Christian;  The  Study  of  the  Bible;  A  Talk  on 
Hooks. 

22  LETTERS,    SENTENCES    AND    MAXIMS,    by    L«rd 

Chesterfield.  Masterpieces  of  good  taste,  good 
writing,  and  good  sense. 

23  REVERIES    OF    A     BACHELOR.    A    book     of     th« 

heart.     By   Ik   Marvel. 

24  DREAM  LIFE,  by  Ik  Marvel.     A  companion  to  "R«y- 

eries  of  a   Bachelor." 

25  SARTOR  RESARTUS,  by  Thomas  Carlyle. 

26  HEROES   AND   HERO    WORSHIP,   by  Thomas   Car- 

lyle. 

27  UNCLE  TOM'S   CABIN,   by   Harriot   Beecher   Stonr*. 
2S    ESSAYS  OF  ELIA,  by  Charles  Lamb. 

29  MY     POINT    OF    VIEW.     Representative    selections 

from  the  works  of  Professor  Henry  Drummond 
by  William  Shepard. 

30  THE  SKETCH  BOOK,  by  Washington  Irving.     Com- 

plete. 

81  KEPT  FOR  THE  MASTER'S  USE,   by  Frances  Rid- 

ley   Havergal. 

82  LUCILE,    by    Owen    Meredith. 

33  LALLA    KOOKH.   by   Thomas   Moore. 

34  THE   LADY    OF   THE    LAKE,   by   Sir  Walter   Scott. 
So    MARMION,  by  Sir  Walter  Scott. 


HENRY   ALTEMUS'    PUBLICATIONS. 


Altemui'  New  Illustrated  Vademecum  Series — Continued. 
Price,  40  cents  each. 


86  THE    PRINCESS;    AND    MAUD,    by    Alfred    (Lord) 

Tennyson. 

87  CHILDE  HAROLD'S  PILGRIMAGE,  by  Lord  Byron. 
U    IDYLLS  OF  THE  KING,  by  Alfred  (Lord)  Tennyson. 
89    EVANGELINE,  by  Henry  Wadsworth   Longfellow. 

40  VOICES    OF    THE    NIGHT    AND    OTHER    PuEMS, 

by  Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow. 

41  THE  BELFRY  OF  BRUGES  AND  OTHER  POEMS, 

by  Henry  Wadswortb   Longfellow. 

42  THE    QUEEN    OF    THE    AIR,    by    John    Ruskin.     A 

study  of  the  Greek  myths  of  cloud  and  storm. 

48    POEMS,  Volume  I,  by  John  Greenleaf  Whittier. 

44  POEMS,  Volume  II,  by  John  Greenleaf  Whittier. 

45  THE  RAVEN;  AND   OTHER   POEMS,   by   Edgar   Al- 

lan Poe. 

46  THANATOPSIS;  AND  OTHER  POEMS,  by  William 

Cullen   Bryant. 

47  THE  LAST  LEAF;  AND  OTHER  POEMS,  by  Oliver 

Weudell    Holmes. 

48  THE    HEROES    OR    GREEK    FAIRY    TALES,     by 

Charles  Kingsley. 

49  A  WONDER  BOOK,   by   Nathaniel   Hawthorne. 
60    UNDINE,  by  de  La   Motte   Foiique. 

51     ADDRESSES,  by  the  Rt.   Rev.   Phillips  Brooks. 

62    BALZAC'S      SHORTER      STORIES,    by    Houore    de 

Balzac. 
58    TWO    YEARS    BEFORE    THE    MAST,    by    Richard 

II.  Dana,  Jr. 
54     BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN.     An   autobiography. 

65  THE  LAST  ESSAYS  OF  ELIA,  by  Charles  Lamb. 

66  TOM      BROWN'S      SCHOOL      DAYS,      by      Thomas 

Hughes. 
57    WEIRD  TALES,  by  Edgar  Allen  Poe. 

68  THE   CROWN   OF    WILD    OLIVE,    by   John    Ruskin. 

Three  lectures  on  Work.   Trallic  and  War. 

69  NATURAL    LAW    IN    TE    SPIRITUAL    WORLD,    by 

Professor  Henry   Dmmmoml. 

60  ABBE   CONSTANT!  N.   by   Lndovie   Ilalevy. 

61  MANON   LESCAET,  by  Abbe  Prevost. 


Ui:.\UY    ALTKMUS'    PUBLICATIONS. 


Alteums'  New  Illustrated  Vadeiuecuni  Serias — Coatiuuad. 
Price,  40  cents  each. 


62  THE  ROMANCE  OF  A  POOR  YOUNG  MAM,  I* 

Octave  Feuillet. 

03  I'.LACK    P.EAUTY,    by   Anna   Sewell. 

04  CAMILLE,   by  Alexander  Dumas,  Jr. 

05  THE  LIGHT  OF  ASIA,  by  Sir  Kdvrln  Arnold. 

66  TIIK   LAYS  OF  ANCIENT   ROME,   by  Thomas   Bafc- 

iuKton   Hacaulay. 

67  TIIK    CONFESSIONS    OF    AN    ENGLISH    OPIOM- 

EATER,  by  Thomas  De  Qulucey. 

68  TREASURE  ISLAND,  by  Robert  L.  Stevenao*. 

69  CARMEN,  by  Prosper  Merlmee. 

70  A   SENTIMENTAL  JOURNEY,   by   Laurence   St»ra«. 

Tl    THE  KLITIIEDALE  ROMANCE,  by  Nathaniel  Haw- 

I  home. 

72  15 AH    HALLADS,    AND    SAVOY    SONGS,    by    W.    H. 

Gilbert. 

73  FANCHON,  THE  CRICKET,  by  George  Sand. 

74  POEMS,  by  James  Russell  Lowell. 

75  JOHN    PLOUGHMAN'S  TALK,   by  th«   Rev.    OharlM 

H.    Spurgeou. 

7«    JOHN     PLOUGHMAN'S    PICTURES,    by    the    R«T. 
Charles  H.   Spur^con. 

77  THE  MANLINESS  OF  CHRIST,  by  Thomas  Huthea. 

78  ADDRESSES  TO  YOUNG  MEN,  by  the  Rev.   Henry 

Ward  Beecher. 

79  THE  AUTOCRAT  OF  THE  BREAKFAST  TABLK, 

by  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes. 

80  MULVANEY  STORIES,   by  Rudyard  Kipling. 

81  I'-ALLADS,  by  Rudyard  Kipling. 

82  MORNING   THOUGHTS,   by   Frances   Ridley   HM»T- 

gal. 

83  TEN  NIGHTS  IN  A  BAR  ROOM,  by  T.  8.   Arthur. 

84  EVENING   THOUGHTS,   by    Frances   Ridley   Hartr- 

gal. 

85  IN  MEMORIAM,  by  Alfred  (Lord)  T«nnyso». 

80    COMING   TO  CHRIST,  by  Frances  Ridley  HaTergai. 
S7    HOUSE  OF  THE  WOLF,   by   Staoiley   Weyruan. 


HENRY   ALTEMUS'    PUBLICATIONS. 


Altemua'  New  Illustrated  Vademecum  Series — Continued. 
Price,  40  cents  each. 


M    THE  CHANGED  CROSS  AND  OTHER  RELIGIOUS 
POEMS. 

89  LADDIE   AND   MISS  TOOSEY'S   MISSION. 

90  GOLD  DUST. 

81    DAILY   FOOD   FOK   CHRISTIANS. 

92  PLAIN    TALES    FROM    THE    HILLS,    by    Rudyard 

Kipling. 

93  PHANTOM    RICKSHAW,   by   Rudyard   Kipling. 

94  JESSICA'S      FIRST      PRAYER      AND      JESSICA'S 

MOTHER,   by   Hesba   Stretton. 

95  THE  THRONE  OF  GRACE. 

M  STEPS  INTO  THE  BLESSED  LIFE,  by  ReT.  F.  B. 
Meyer. 

97  ADVENTURES   OF   A    BROWNIE,    by    Miss    Mulock. 

98  THE    IMPREGNABLE    ROCK    OF    HOLY    SCRIP- 

TURE, by  Hon.  AY.  E.  Gladstone. 

99  PATHWAY  OF  PROMISE. 

100  PATHWAY  OF  SAFETY,  by  Rt.   RCT.  Asnton  Ox- 

endon. 

101  KIDNAPPED,  by  Robert  Louis  Stevenson. 

102  THE   PRINCE    OF   THE    HOUSE    OF   DAVID,    by 

RCT.  J.   H.   Ingraham. 

103  THE   CHRISTIAN   LIFE,   by   Rt.   Rev.   Ashton   Ox- 

eadea. 

104  THE  MESSAGE  OF  PEACE,  by  ReT  R.  W.  Church. 

105  PEEP  OF  DAY.    Or  a  Series  of  the  Earliest  Relig- 

ious  Instruction    the    Infant    Mind    Is    Capable   of 
Receiving. 

IOC  LINE  UPON  LINE.  Or  a  Second  Series  of  the  Ear- 
licit  Religious  Instruction  the  Infant  Mind  Is 
Capable  of  Receiving. 

107  PRECEPT  UPON  PRECEPT.  By  the  author  of 
"The  Peep  of  Day,"  "Line  Upon  Line,"  "Pre- 
cept Upon  Precept,"  etc. 

101    TANGLEWOOD  TALES,   by  Nathaniel   Hawthorne. 

16t    THE  SONG  OF  HIAWATHA,  by  Henry  Wadsworth 

Longfellow. 


ALTEMUS'   1TKILNAL  LIKK  SKUIKS. 


Selections  from  the  writings  of  well-known  religions  authon, 

printed  and  daintily  hound  with  original  designs 

in  silver  and  ink. 


Price,  25  cents  per  volume. 

1  KTF.KNAL  LIFE,  \>j  1'rolVssor  Henry  Dnmimond. 

2  LORD,  TEACH  US  TO  I'li.YY,  by  Rev.  Aiulivw  Murray. 
8    (,(M)'S  WORD  AND  GOD'S  WORK,  by  .Martin  Luther. 

4  FAITH,   by  Thomas  Arnold. 

5  THE  CREATION  STORY.  by  Honorable  William  E.  Gladstone 
«    THK  MES3AGEOF  COMFORT.  by  Kr.  Rev.  Ashton  Oxendtn. 

7  THE  MESSAGE  OK  I'EACE,  by  Rpv.  It    \V.  Church. 

8  THE  LORD'S  1'RAYER  AND  THE  TEN   COMMANDMENTS,  by 

Hi-ail  Stanlty. 

9  TL1E  MEMOIRS  OF  JESTS,  by  Rev.  Robert  F.  Horton. 

10  HYMNS  OF  1'UAISE  AN  1)  (il,  ADN  KSS.  by  Elisabeth  It.  Scortl. 

11  DIFFICULTIES,  by  Hannah  Whltall  Smith. 

12  GAMliLEKS  AND  GAMBLING,  by  Kpr.  Henry  Ward  Bspclier. 

13  HAVE  FAITH  IN  GOD.  by  !Jev.  Andrew  Murray. 

14  TWELVE    CAUSES    OF    DISHONESTY,    by  Her.    llenry   W»rJ 

livelier. 

15  THE  CHRIST  IN   WHOM  CHRISTIANS  BELIEVE,  by  Kt.  B«T. 

Phillips  Brooks. 

U    IN  MY  NAME,  by  Err.  Andrew  Murray. 
17    SIX  WARNINGS,  by  K.-T.  H.-niy  \Var.l  Beeoher. 
IS    THE  DUTY   OF  THE  CH  KlsTI  A  N  JiKSl  N  ESS  MAN,  by  Rt.  B«T. 
Brooks. 


19  roi'ULAK  AMUSEMENTS,  by  Kf-v.  H.-nry  \Vaj-aBefrhrr. 

90  TKUE  LIBERTY,  by  lit.  K.'V.  IMililliis  Blm.lts. 

tl  INDUSTRY  AND  IDLENESS,   by  R,;v.  H-nry  Want  T5effchrr. 

J2  THE    BEAUTY   OF  A    LIFE  OF   SERVICE,    by  Kt.  l!av.    fhllllps 

Brooks. 

23  THE  SECOND  COMING  OF  OUR  LOR!),  byllc-v.  A.T.l'leraoii,  D.D. 

Z4  THOUoiiT  AND  ACTM.V,  by  Kt.  Rev.  I'Uliip-USrooks. 

26  THK  HEAVENLY  VI.-ION,  by  Rev.  F.  I',.  M.-ycr. 

26  JIORNING  STRENC  T!f,  by  Xll<abot!i  li.  Seuvll. 

^7  KOllTHEQUIET  Hi'UK.   by  Edith  V.  r.r.t'I'. 

tt  EVENING  COMFORl',  by  EMs.ibctli  K.  Sr.u  11. 

«  WORDS  OF  1IELV  i  O  !i  C1I1MSTI  AN  (JlKI.S,  by  Her.  F.  B.  Mry»r. 

8U  HO  WTO  STUDY  THE  BIBLE,  by  l!.-v.  Dwjglit  L.  Moody. 

C  EXPECTATION  CORNER,   by  E.  S.  Elliot. 

S2  JESSICA'S  FIRST  1'HAYr.i:.   by  !It>b;>  Sirettou 

IS  JISSICA'SMOTIIE!,',  by  Hcsba.  Mieilou. 

84  THE  GREATEST  Til  I  NG  IN  THE  WORLD,  by  Uenry  Drummond. 

H  HOW  TO  LEARN  H<i\V,  by  Henry  Dnimmoi.d. 

M  WHAT  IS  A  CHRISTIAN  ?  THE   STUDY    OF   THE   BIBLE;    A 

TALK  ON  BOOKS,  by  Henry  Druinmoud. 


ALTEMUS'  ETERNAL  LIFE  SERIES— Continued. 


87    PAX  VOBISCUM,  by  Henry  Drnnnneii'l. 

M    THE  CHANGED  LIFE   by  Henry  Uruinmoncl. 

M    FIK8T  I   A  TALK  WITH  BOYS,  by  Henry  Drummond. 


ALTEMUS'  BELLES-LETTRES  SERIES. 


A  collection   of  Essays  and   Addresses  by   Eminent  English 

and  Amerioan   Authors,   beautifully  printed 

»nd   daintily   bound,    with   original 

designs   in   silver  inks. 


Price,  25  cents  per  volume. 

1    INDEPENDENCE  DAY,  by  Rev.  Edward  E.  Hale. 

1    THE  SCHOLAR  IN  POLITICS,  by  Hon.  Rlckard  Olney. 

I    THE  YOUNG  MAN  IN  BUSINESS,  by  Edward  V,'.  l?»ic. 

4  THE  YOUNG  MAN  AND  THE  CHURCH,  by  Edward  W.  Bok. 

5  THE  SPOILS  SYSTEM,  by  Hon.  Carl  Schun. 
t    CONVERSATION,  by  Thomas  DeQulncey . 

7  SWEETNESS  AND  LIGHT,  by  Matthew  Arnold. 

8  WOKK.  by  John  Ruskln. 

9  NATURE  AND  A RT,  by  Ralph  Waldo  Em*n*>n. 

10  THE  USE  AND  MISUSE  OF  BOOKS,  by  Pre<l,-rle  Harnson. 

11  THE   MONROE  DOCTRINE:     ITS  ORIGIN,    MEANING    AND 

APPLICATION,   by   m>f.  Johu  l!iu:h  McM*-u-r  (UulTcriity  of 
1'enusylYanla) 

12  THEDK»TINTOFMAN,  fcy  Sir  John  Lubbonk. 

19  LOVE  AJfD  rRIENDSHH',  by  Ral[ih  Waldo  Em»rt«B. 

14  KIP  VAN  \TINKLE,  by  Washington  Inrlng. 

15  ART,  POETKT  AND  MUSK1,  by  Sir  John  Lubbock. 
18    TH  F.  CHOICE  OF  BOOKS,  by  >*lr  J«lm  Lubbook. 

17  MANNKRI,  by  Halpb.  Waldo  Enier.scm. 

18  C1IAUACTER,  by  Ralph  Waldo  Emernon. 

1«  THE  LEGEND  OF  SLEEPY  HOLLOW,  by  Washington  Irrtng. 

20  THK  BEAUTIES  OF  NATURE,  by  Sir  John  LubUock. 

21  SKI, F  RELIANCE,  by  Ralph  Waldo  Einers.ui. 

22  THE  IM.'TTOr  HAl'PINIiSS,  by  Sir  John  Lubbock, 

23  bP  IRITU  AL  LAWS,  by  JiaJfih  Waldo  Emerson. 
14  OLD  CHRISTMAS,  by  Washington  Irving. 

25  HEALTH,  WEALTH  AND  THE  BLESSING  OF   FRIENDS, 

Sir  Jahn  LaDbock. 

26  INTELLECT,  by  JUlph  Waldo  Emerson. 

W    \vilT  AMERICANS  DJSLIK.E  ENGLANOf  by  Fr»L  O«orr« 

A<J»in«  (Yale). 
M    THE  HIGHEI1  EDUCATION  A9  ATJtAININtJ  FORBUIIJIE 

by  I'rof.  Harry  1'ratt  Jadson  (University  o 
2»    MIS.S  TOOtJEY'S  MISSION. 
SO    LADUIK. 
31    J.  COLE,  by  Emma  Qeulbrand. 


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